greenness

“Our work is meant to be a green work, a greening work, a creative work”

—Hildegard von Bingen, 12th century.

“I am the breeze that nurtures all things green. I encourage blossoms to flourish with ripening fruits. I am the rain coming from the dew that causes the grasses to laugh with the joy of life.”

—Hildegard von Bingen

In Hildegard’s visions she imagines the whole cosmos laughing with joy and with a mystical, “greening power,” which she called, ‘Viriditas’. She made up a word to express her belief in renewal: whether in nature, or in life, or spirit.

Once again, we are reminded that Mother Nature does not shy away from color. In a time of aesthetic minimalism, we must still remember that splashes of color are intended to invigorate us and remind us of all the vibrancy that inhabits the natural world. Come rain. Come shine. Don’t shy from creativity.

Don’t shy from renewal. It’s time to dig into the dirt and plant our seeds. If only to remind ourselves that come what may, life returns again and again.

Even in the midst of anxiety, there is peace to be found in the beauty that persists in Nature.

At the Barn Swallow, we feel it every day.