THE CHALLENGE OF SPRING

     The pussy willows are in soft bloom, and they feel so good against the cheeks, against the eyelids. If we close our eyes, we can feel the loving spring against our faces. If we open our eyes, we can also see the suffering of our world. It can feel like the devastating, endless winter of our reality, with no sense of hope for the resurgence of our planet, freedom, international relations, economic survival, honesty of our government. But enormous numbers of people are becoming suddenly more aware of the ruthless manipulation behind the scenes, of the control and greed of those in power. Perhaps the clearing vision of the deceptions and murders, beyond what mainstream media has told anyone, is not only devestating and wintery, but also the spring of understanding. Maybe understanding that we have been held down by forces who want to keep us under their control will cause people to rise up like the spring shoots, to push our way into the light. Maybe it was necessary for people to be pushed far down into the ground to begin to revolt into a new strength of purpose, a new discipline in refining our spirits to bloom larger than they have bloomed before. Because how else can we live?

Photography & text © Tantra Bensko