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Beltane 2005
Of Daffodils, Robins and Acts of Pleasure
BY Amanda
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils,
Beside the lake, beneath the trees
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
(William Wordsworth)
Every spring, when the snow has melted and the first shoots of summer begin to appear, I'm reminded of this poem. I grew up with daffodils. My mother always planted lots of them in the garden and all through the lawn. Every spring, we would watch for the first shoots to push their way up into the sunlight and blossom into bright yellow blooms. That is... if the squirrels didn't get to them first.
The other sure sign that summer was just around the corner was the sighting of the first robin of the year. Maybe we'd see him perched on a tree branch, joyously singing his little heart out. Or perhaps, our first sighting would be of him hopping around the yard, pulling worms out of the soil for dinner.
The few weeks leading up to Beltaine are months of renewal and excitement. As the last of the snow melts, the air warms, and the sunlight extends further into the evenings, you can feel it all around you. Birds chatter and sing in the trees and bushes. Squirrels scurry about, tut-tutting at the birds. Cats crouch in full alert, waiting for an unsuspecting squirrel or bird. Dogs walk with their noses to the ground, stopping at every tree and fire hydrant alert to the scents of spring and other passers-by. Geese cackle overhead, heading north for the summer.
People too start to emerge. We come out of our winter caves and reconnect with friends and neighbours. Patio furniture gets hosed down, the BBQ fired up, and laughter can be heard from back yards and balconies across the city. We dust off our sneakers, climb onto our bikes, lace-up our roller skates, pull out the soccer ball, and head outside to play.
There is a sense of playfulness and frivolity during the early summer months as we all revel in the warmer weather and each other. It is a time to renew friendships and revel in the pleasures of the season.
This celebration of friendship, pleasure and playfulness often reminds me one particular line from the Wiccan Charge of the Goddess:
Let My worship be in the heart that rejoices, for behold,
all acts of love and pleasure are My rituals.
(as adapted by Starhawk)
In this respect, my simple enjoyment of the beginnings of summer - getting out into the fresh (warm) air, listening to the birds, watching the trees bud, appreciating the blade of grass pushing through the sidewalk, and reconnecting with friends - are all rituals in the eyes of the Goddess. But this line reminds me of more than that: It reminds me that I need to love and be loved, and I need to experience pleasure and give pleasure, to exist as a healthy human being.
In a society that seems to increasingly put a higher value on productivity and keeping busy than on leisure and the nurturing of self, acknowledging and inviting pleasure into our life may seem to be counterintuitive, or even wrong. The excited stirrings of summer are a reality-check for me, a reminder to put the work down, take a few moments and get out and enjoy all that she has to offer.
So as the days warm, the daffodils toss their heads in sprightly dance, and the robins sing with joyous abandon, I reaffirm simple acts of pleasure in my life, renew the love of friends, family and lovers, and revel in the playfulness and frivolity of the season. I hope you will too.
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