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Recover, Renew, and Regenerate by Deborah Ooten

Mar 27, 2022
Dr Deborah Ooten

Spring is the time that we begin to recover from the darkness of winter, renew our commitment to life and regenerate our desires for healthy and soulful living. When we think about our current times and the difficulty and division that has been generated nationally and globally, we can certainly see that recovery, renewal and regeneration are in order for the healing of the individual, community, nation and globe in the coming years.

 

Traditionally, Spring in the secular world has been a time of celebration for the end of winter, a time of looking forward to the warmth and beauty that blooms as the days lengthen. For many religious people, spring and Easter denote a time of miracles and a reaffirming of faith. Both the Jewish and Christian traditions mark spring as a time for celebration. The Jewish festival, Purim, has as its central character Esther who, as the queen, kept the evil Haman from killing her people. Easter, in the Christian tradition, is a time of celebrating the resurrection of Christ.

 

Long before Easter became what it is today, the spring festival was celebrated by people around the world. The celebration was associated with the Vernal Equinox and with the Saxon Goddess, Eostre (which is synonymous with Astarte, a Germanic goddess of the moon). Both of these deities measured time. Spring was about renewal and regeneration.

 

All of the traditions teach us that we must recover from the losses, deaths, and challenges that winter presents. Look at the issues that arose for you this winter on a personal, family, community, national and global level. Did the transitional aspects of winter require you to change the way you viewed yourself, others, the world? How did the election affect you? Did you find yourself more aware of our differences or more aware of our similarities? We are all in a period of “recovery” as we come out of the darkness of winter and into the light of spring. Has an old way of being “died” within you only to be resurrected anew in the spring?

 

Renewal is a time of looking at our gains in the period of reflection (winter) and a time for planting the new seeds that will guide us into the summer and fall. Do you wish to continue to go in directions that do not serve you? What about your health, spiritual journey, and relationships? Are these areas in your life on the right path? In the renewal phase of life it is important to reassess and make intentions for how you want your life to be. Once a decision has been made about your direction then be conscious of each and every choice that you make. Do your choices facilitate and move you toward the intention or goal that you have set for your life? Will your life truly be resurrected if you stay on your intended path?

 

Regeneration is about being fully present to your soul’s direction and to the healthiest way of living in the present moment. Each of us has a higher self that can lead us on our journey. The only thing that gets in the way of our higher self is the ego or personality. The personality can separate us from truly knowing ourselves, another and God. Be sure that in the regeneration phase of life that you are attending to the highest “self”, that aspect of you that intuitively knows what is the healthiest way for you to be conducting your life.

 

Remember to have fun on the journey, because the journey is what is most important…not the destination.

 

Blessings on your attention as you notice the gifts spring and the equinox can bring into your life.

 

 

Dr. Deborah Ooten is the founder and director of the Conscious Living Center.