The Gifts of May Day

"So intuition is the very personal way we listen to the Universe

in order to discover and rediscover

the learnings we are born with."

SEVEN THOUSAND WAYS TO LISTEN

Mark Nepo

There is something about the first of May I find exciting and stimulating.  In years passed, I would awaken early, gather some flowers and make little May Baskets to leave on the porch of friends.  If there is one left over, I would randomly place it on the steps of an unknown family, chuckling at the thought of their wonderment!

I have stretched this May Day festivity into the entire month of May.  I collect random bottles (salad dressings, bar-b-que sauces, jelly jars, etc... ) during the months preceding May.  Sporadically throughout the month, I will clip some fresh flowers, arrange them in the recycled bottle and give them away.  It is a fun thing to do for unsuspecting friends, small business owners, or people who happen to cross our paths.  The more random the giving, the more exhilarating it feels.  This gesture seems to brighten a person's day much more than any words I might have spoken.

The excitement arriving on the very first of May stems from a sense that if May has truly arrived, luscious flowers, flying birds, sunshine and lovely evenings are well on their way.  I can relax into the desires of spring.  Happiness is kindled within me that is not experienced at any other time.  There is a freedom I feel ... an awakening from a long winter's nap ... and a liberation ... no more darkness, just grass between my toes and listening intently to sounds.

A connection comes alive as nature births lovely flowers, plants, bushes and trees.  I feel myself stretching with growth reaching for the sun, and swaying in the breeze like the limbs of the flowering trees.  This sense of spring settles inside of me, grounding me to appreciate the unfolding of all things.  It is good to be alive, to listen, and to breathe in the fresh air allowing the random fragrances carry me almost any where.