The Merry Month of May. Thomas Dekker penned this well know phrase in 16th century England. It has certainly withstood the test of time. Consider the first line:
O the month of May, the merry month of May,
So frolic, so gay, and so green, so green, so green!
As I write, it is April 30th. My thoughts skip around from sweet to somber to reminiscent. My personal tradition of gathering some sort of flowers or budding branches to arrange near my front door to welcome spring dates back to early years spent living in Annapolis, Maryland. Residents of historic Cornwall Street outdid each other with door decorations in the annual competition for the best May Day display. To my surprise the tradition continues, 71 years old this year, and is widespread throughout the city. (If you are curious, take a look: https://www.downtownannapolispartnership.org/may-day-baskets)
I was stunned, therefore, when my new, now former, husband smashed my romantic notions of lovely May 1st by saying “Oh no, you are wrong. May Day is all about military parades.” I beg to differ.
Many years ago, and I do mean many, before I graduated from the Peabody Institute, Preparatory Department, in Baltimore, Maryland, I was a young dance student destined for New York City and a future career on pointe. Each spring our stern and demanding ballet mistress carefully drilled selected students in the art of the Maypole. On the big day, the Mt. Vernon Flower Festival (which continues today), skipping along in frilly dresses and hair bows, we meticulously braided the long streamers of the Maypole. (Trust me, no one dared to make a mistake.) By chance, I discovered the above photo of the event (thanks to Facebook) – taken in the 1950s.
May is most likely named for the Roman goddess, Maia, goddess of growth and fertility. Appropriately, Mother’s Day is celebrated each year mid-May. Who can argue with the coincidence? The full moon of May, this year on May 1, is aptly named The Flower Moon. Full moons are spaced every 29.5 days so we have a bonus Blue Moon this year on the 31st. While these are consistently lovely items to list for this month, there is something else, for me, that I am considering this year.
Let us consider the polite usage of the word ‘may’ in daily speech. May I do this or may I do that? Twice I have participated in a beautiful learning experience: a 6-week training in Lovingkindness presented by the Vermont Zen Center in Shelburne described as: “Lovingkindness, or Mettabhavana, is an ancient Buddhist meditation leading to the development of unconditional lovingkindness and friendliness. Metta is something you feel in your heart, a positive emotional state towards others as well as ourselves.”
Metta is becoming familiar to many as more and more people today adopt an uncomplicated, usually brief, daily meditation practice. Sometimes simply sitting in stillness and quietude for a minute or two, breathing, in mindfulness, is all that it takes to reduce escalating stress, so easy to fall victim to these days. As the mind, unaccustomed to a break, looks for something “to do,” it can be useful to quietly think or say the various phrases of Metta.
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be safe.
May I live with ease.
These simple words can be modified to fit one’s personal needs. But the concept holds true – wishing oneself well no matter what else may be happening in life. Perhaps the beauty of these blessings is grace. MAY I…. Ultimately we toss the pebble into the pond of existence and in ever- widening circles we bless, send Metta, or loving and kind thoughts, to those dearest to us, then to those we barely know, then to those with whom we might have difficulty, and finally to the community or world at large. It is somehow satisfying to guide our thinking in these directions. Rather than a vacant imagining, we have ways in which to organize our thoughts, though freeing all to land as they will.
This practice has become a tool I carry with me through my day. If annoyance sparks, I have somewhere to direct my thought. If sadness, pity, fear, lack, or any negativity enters my world, I have a tool to use to pause the momentum. And if there is joy, I can share that as well. So simple. And all beginning with the word May. May I… May you… May all….
I am a Personal Trainer and Yoga teacher. I do not presume to teach meditation. But I do share Metta with my students. What a lovely way to end a practice!
April showers just might bring May flowers – depending on where you live. Here in Vermont, I am hopeful. We do not dare plant before Memorial Day so I wait. But there are signs if one looks. Daffodils are poking through, buds are appearing on trees and shrubs, and even early crocus blooms are randomly visible.
As daylight hours lengthen, the sun appears intermittently, and previously white-covered ground evolves to green, May you be happy in this Merry Month of May. Blessings.
In the world around us, new growth is evident. Geography informs the weeks and months in which this happens, but in any event, green appears – leaves on trees, grass pushing up from the soil, bulbs creating their hopeful display and buds opening to the sun. 
Yes, the world is a bit of a mess. Yes, we face daily challenges in many aspects of our lives. Yes, we feel helpless at times. And yes we really haven’t much to say about the changing seasons – they will happen one way or another**. So perhaps, the best thing is to let go, align with what this particular season suggests, and allow the growth to happen. If we are motivated to creatively look forward, let us follow those plans with good energy. If we are able to reframe our challenges and look at them – not as Pollyannas – but proactively, well then, let us get on with the business (and privilege) of problem-solving.
Last night I stood with a much-loved family member to watch a boys’ lacrosse game. Approaching severe thunder storms mingled with intense competition as the two teams played a grudge match. Yet at one point, my companion said ‘Look!’ There across the sky was a complete rainbow. It was breathtaking.
Change is one of those Yin/Yang words. Just thinking of change has the power to initiate thoughts of fear, loss or unease. Reframed, the concept might be exciting, rich with opportunity, at the very least different but potentially better. The Yang version might be drive or struggle while the Yin side might be flow and process. In any event, change – something different – is often just around the corner.
*Speaking of outside – do we GO outside EVERY day? For some, this is a no-brainer. If we are fortunate enough to live in a place where outdoor space is abundant and welcoming, well, we are fortunate and therefore have no reason not to open that door and venture out. If we work outdoors, even if we need to get to our cars, or have dogs that need to be walked – again, fortunate. But sometimes we do need to pick ourselves up and spend time in outdoor awareness, noticing the terrain, feeling the air, observing the surroundings and listening. One of the advantages (yes, I count this as advantage) of having a dog is that he or she absolutely must go outside. Opening the door and granting pee time is not enough. Our furry friends need exercise so outside it is – rain, snow, sleet, hail – or so the saying goes. Invariably, we find that even the worst weather conditions offer their own benefits.
The month of August falls squarely in the middle of the Five Element cycle*. According to Gail Reichstein, Wood Becomes Water, Chinese Medicine In Everyday Life, “Earth is considered the prime stabilizing force.” Think also of the season, a time that brings spring’s seeds and summer’s growth to fruition, harvest, plenty. Think Mother Earth, nurturing, nourishing, balancing, accumulating, allowing and perhaps even sustaining deeply rooted hope. In today’s world of daily disasters, atrocities and frenetic technology, it is good to step back for a few moments and simply to be.
Recently I have stepped outside my comfort zone to join a book club led by my friend Ana del Rosal (
One of my favorite things to do is practice framing and reframing. I use the latter for problem solving and the former to capture scenes when I choose to take a leisurely walk to simply enjoy the beautiful state in which I live. Yes, ok, I get it. When I actually click the button on my phone to take a picture and not simply file in my memory, yes, ok, I have not turned my cell phone off.
Today was one of those days – serious rain followed by sun then by clouds then by hot sun then by a good drenching while the sun was shining then by thunder and a downpour then by bright sun …..But walk we did. Coming upon a road closure with two Labs on leash was a real find! Even the invasives are gorgeous as they thrive. Driving home from the local market I was forced to stop to capture the view. Letting my girls play in the beaver pond was so breathtaking, I just had to whip out the phone … and you know what followed.
Enjoy. Love from Sophie, Lizzie and me
No, I have nothing profound to say and certainly nothing that can pass as original thinking. But I have been thinking. A lot. Especially as I walk through the woods with scattered attention looking ahead and in the trees (yes in the trees) for a bear sighting (as that’s where they go when they hear my Sophie) and trying not to trip on the tennis ball that my Lizzie continually drops just as I am about to step.
Life happens. (Please feel free to substitute another four-letter word.) It’s been a challenging 6 months for absolutely everyone I know. I won’t go into detail but, yes, I know you and you have had it as well! To give a nod to the glass half full, perhaps the challenges are also helping foster growth. We may need to think about this or smother a groan but if we look at the world around us, we might plug in for a little personal growth as well.
Growth is apparent everywhere in nature as plants, bees, mushrooms, ferns, trees, slugs and of course the wicked woods flies all flourish and thrive! But it is all growth. May we grow as well.
*At this point in my writing, I reached back in my memory for something I had read by Rabbi Harold Kushner along the lines of answering the age-old question how could tragedy happen and where was God? His answer was that God was seen in the human response to tragedy, the love and generosity of those reaching out to help. As I searched for the exact quote I stumbled upon Rabbi Kushner’s obituary. I was stunned to learn that he had passed on April 28, 2023. Since reading “Living a Life That Matters,” (Anchor Books, A Division of Random House, Inc, 2001,2002) a book of his that I treasure, I have been a devoted fan. When a friend gave me a signed copy of one of his books, she proclaimed that I had found “my Rabbi!” May I suggest that you find a book title of his that peaks your interest and spend some reading time with this wonderful man? I share here from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you lived – that is to have succeeded.” Oh, Rabbi Kushner, you have succeeded.
It’s a wrap. Almost. December 31 to January 1 – the annual and inevitable threshold, the measurement of time witnessed by days, weeks and months throughout an entire year. Sometimes we arrive at this threshold, surprised, as if it is something new to be encountered. Sometimes we anticipate crossing into the new year with a mixture of relief and hope. We are relieved to have the old one done, wrapped up like a regifted holiday present, and hope that life must certainly become easier, or better, or warmer or well fed. 
After listening and reading O’Donohue, I can never again take the word “threshold” lightly. Yes, there is the threshold the carpenter installs in our homes as well as a myriad of objects and structures one must step over to move from one space to another. But, profoundly, we are faced with oh so many thresholds of living, proceeding from one moment to the next, sometimes heralded and sometimes passing in oblivion.
Perhaps you notice a collective change in the approach to the holiday season in recent years. In my circle of family, friends, clients, acquaintances and community, I do. Since March 2020 when Covid became a household word and unwanted guest, the concept of connection topped the list of that which is most important. Distant relatives and friends were able to visit face to face with the click of a mouse. Consumerism took a turn away from impulse buying in the checkout aisle to scrolling and searching in the infinite world of the internet. Instant acquisition governed shopping habits as gift cards became the gift of choice. But then, even as the virus kept us largely out of crowded shopping areas, financial insecurity put the brakes on spending for those thoughtful enough to recognize it.
In my small world, there is suffering this year. I can only offer compassion to those who have lost loved ones (animal and human), to those struggling with health issues, to those facing scarcity. I see in a friend’s face that she is conflicted and by another’s body language that there is sadness. Is it more pronounced in these years of Covid? Are we more vulnerable?