Redemption: a path of constant progress
The Kedron Brook flows through South Woodstock, Vermont. (Gareth Henderson Photo)
The onset of spring always inspires. Those first few buds out of the ground, the symphonies of birds with their musical movements working together as one — it’s a transformation we all welcome.
This year, this season of change is especially poignant, because it naturally represents the transformation our world is attempting. It’s the embodiment of that transition from a cold, more stark season, to a more hopeful one. That’s what makes the spirit of Easter so fitting for this time of year: that idea of dispensing with the old, to embrace the new. More specifically, it’s that redemption of a former self, for a better reflection of who we truly are.
After a few moments of reflection, we may well feel an eagerness to quickly move on from the main challenges of the past year — namely the pandemic, political strife, racial tensions and a cratering economy. But looking forward, it’s worth reflecting on what those challenges revealed to us. From my humble view, it revealed that a number of old constructs, old assumptions about each other, and old limits on ourselves, were impeding progress and needed to come to the surface for resolution.
At the same time, those challenges also revealed the solution: the best version of us. Our own nurturing, caring, and selfless giving had to be lifted up for all to see, and it was, through countless examples of support to our neighbors here and around the globe. The sunlight of that collective truth warmed our hearts and souls, and shared the fruit of selflessness when we needed it most. You might say, our real strength and courage as mankind was proven. It no longer requires proof, but instead, it needs constant work, patience, and steadfastness to cultivate that strength through love and compassion. Spring is the start of gardening season, where we tend our plots and start our seeds. Those gardens start from meek beginnings, but the same love and compassion we bestow on them, can be used to tend the gardens of our souls and sustain us. These are innate traits we all have, and with them, we have a grand opportunity to make progress and overcome barriers, for the good of all.
But the path is long and winding. Redemption is not the work of a moment; it requires constant effort and focus on the path that leads to the best version of ourselves. Like the springtime, the need for redemption regularly returns within this journey of life, always challenging us to go up higher. As we seek higher ground, we are returning to a place that’s natural to us, because our best qualities are always within us, waiting to be expressed. They hold the key to the best solutions to our most daunting problems, and each step toward a more loving awareness of the world, is another way to show that redemption is possible. That’s the most precious inspiration we can give as a society.
— Gareth Henderson
