Spring is here. The farmer's market downtown begins this weekend, and I find myself taking more walks everyday. You can't help but notice, too, the new food around. Different greens, fewer apples, small signs of a new season blossoming. There is a different shine to the world on these early spring days.
I was born in the Spring and always love its arrival. Green grass, time outside, and the promise of summer. Each day unfolds and goes by so fast, especially as I'm getting older. I remember when it seemed like so long before summer would come, as we waited and waited. Now it seems like it's almost here before spring even gets started.
One way I slow down is to walk and allow the unexpected in. Serendipity is something that is both present and lost in our new age of information, reviews, yelp, and i-phones. We may never have to eat at a bad restaurant again, but we may also fail to discover our favorite ever. What is the role of mystery and discovery in life? What is the value of visiting the unknown?
I think of all the books I have bought because I was in a certain place at a certain time. How they remind me of that when I see them on a shelf. It's a different experience than ordering one online and getting exactly what you wanted. Because I don't know if we always know best what we want. Sometimes (often) our desires are ephemeral fantasies, mirages that were never there to begin with.
