Interesting gifts

Man, the daily "everything's different" is very, very different today.

A couple of days ago, the world changed... Winter basically "puts me out," as a Fire guy, Water (the element of the season of Winter) is very ... extinguishing, shall we say.

But a couple of days ago, I was writing music again! Sitting up for a few hours, even! I'm thinking, have we gone into the season of Wood now? Wood is the mother of Fire, after all...

And today, I sit at my composition computer and... turn it off. Oh, it was a wonderful couple of days, but like all things of this world, it ended. No music today, at least.

I'm handling some correspondence, this morning, writing this for you, and then... bed, probably.

I made myself some Dark Oolong tea, just to start off the morning differently for a change. And enjoyed it. May even make myself another cup or two.

But, the wild pu erh is medicinal, just like my various sets of herbs. So it'll be medicinal-tea-time again, before too long passes. But for a few brief shining moments, as the lyrics to the musical Camelot say, the oolong was wonderful.

Are we in the season of Wood, now? Well if we aren't already, we're definitely turning the corner and gonna be there soon (at least here in Southern California; the elements may express themselves differently in other parts of the country). Wood is about, among many things, new beginnings.

Spring has always been a time of loss, for me. School, a place that has always been a huge part of my life, ends in spring. Which means the plays, the concerts, the everything-that's-fun about school, it all goes away in the spring.

Moving back to the agricultural metaphor, spring leads to summer which leads to harvest, and school's about plant and grow during the school year, and then... harvest!

Theoretically, at least.

But I never really enjoyed spring as such, until now. It's actually a very wonderful season, if you can enjoy it on its own terms, accepting the special things that it, and only it, have to offer.

As with so many things, it's just like... life, then, isn't it?

So, my current M.S.-ridden state is what it took to make me perceive spring for what it is. Heck, for the first time in decades, last night I even sat outside and looked up at the stars, what few we can see here in light-polluted Pasadena.

So much that I can't (for now at least) do. So much that I used to do that is ... and this isn't neurological, it's just—over.

And finally, I can see Spring for what it is. And go outside at night and look at the stars.

Interesting gifts, eh?