Forsythia (Foresight)

We’re approaching my favorite time of the year, that of pre-spring. We’re already past the mid-point between the start of winter and that of spring, and it is now that I start to look for the first blooms. And there is always a specific place: the park across the street from No. 1 Broadway in New York City. It’s the park that includes historic monuments in New York and American history, such as Castle Clinton, and the ticketing area for ferry to the Statue of Liberty.

The bush that I look for is that of the Forsythia. Oh, what a beautiful burst of yellow among the grey buildings! Such a happy color, so promising of what’s to come. It took me some time to figure out what the name of this plant is, but when I did, it struck me how similar it’s pronunciation is to the word foresight.

On this cool but comfortable, sunny late-February day, the light was so special, as it is this time of the year, and into March. I thought of what I envision in the coming days and months, and what my hopes are, too. I feel sadness around the resultant humanitarian crisis of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but also wonder what kind of world will follow. Will it have more Light? Will we be finished, once and for all, with the patriarchal paradigm of war? Time will only tell, as the image of the Freedom Tower, where the Twin Towers once stood, takes up space in the corner of my eye.

The spot where I stood was very close to what was sure to be a sacred spot for the indigenous Lenape tribe of Manhattan, as is often the case where two rivers meet. And I can feel the energies. It is said that the modern world has a lot to learn, in this time, from the wisdom of the native peoples.

That is surely my hope, as the light, both figuratively, with the beginning of the Aqe of Aquarius, and literally, since the winter equinox, returns.