A Season of Knowledge and Wisdom

QUOTES ABOUT SPRING

Mark Twain: “In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours. Robins Williams: “Spring is nature’s way of saying let’s party.” William Shakespeare: “April hath put a spirit of youth in everything." However, my favorite quote about spring comes from Margaret Atwood because it speaks to my heart. “In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” Oh, how I long to have my hands in the soil of this good earth just one more time.

QUOTES ABOUT KNOWLEDGE

Albert Einstein: “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination circles the world." Oliver Wendell Holmes: “One's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.” Carl G. Jung: “Knowledge rests not upon truth alone, but upon error also.” Wilbur and Orville Wright: “It is possible to fly without motors, but not without knowledge and skill.” Confucius has one of my favorite quotes: “Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.”

QUOTES ABOUT WISDOM

John Barrymore: “A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.” Daniel Webster: “Wisdom begins at the end.” Chinese Proverb: “A single conversation with a wise man is better than 10 years of study.” Alfred Lord Tennyson: “Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers.” Immanuel Kent: “Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.” Abraham Lincoln: "And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” The late baseball Hall of Fame player, Leroy (Satchel) Paige asked a wonderful question: “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?”

THE SWEETNESS OF SPRING IS IN THE AIR

Living in the Northeastern United States, one learns all too quickly how unpredictable the weather can be during the months of spring. Small and mighty the crocus, hyacinth, daffodils, and tulips push open the manhole covers of the earth. The annual event rewards an appreciative audience with hope and stimulates our senses of sight and smell. When daytime temperatures reach into the 40s and nighttime coolness dips down into the 20s it signals that maple season is upon us. The maple trees are tapped and the sap is collected over a one-month period. Towns, villages, and farms begin to hold their maple syrup festivals as the sap is taken to sugar houses and turned into light, medium and dark amber maple syrup. The heavy aroma wafting through the air drips with delicious sweetness.

THE SPRING DANCE OF LIFE

Although March was not a good month for Julius Caesar, it proves over and over how glorious the commencement dance of new life can be. Trees, shrubs and various plants awaken with the revival of buds, flowers and green blades of grass. The heart grows fonder with the sounds of the morning doves and their medley played while nesting. Chipmunks begin to surface from their dens, scurrying across the patio and front steps appearing to ask, “Hey, Mr. Page, where did all of the peanuts go?” The male house sparrow chirps his songs of love in his quest to find a lifelong partner. You see, the house sparrows are monogamous unless their mate dies during mating season at which time they are replaced almost immediately. It is interesting to note that seagulls are also monogamous. Perhaps their marriage longevity has something to do with a prolonged breeding season which lasts between three and five months.

Commencement ceremonies fill lawns, gymnasiums, auditoriums, and arenas as one season of educational life reached its fruition and a new season of wisdom begins.

Marriages, both traditional and non-traditional greet the springtime with dreams, love, and companionship that will ideally last a lifetime. We tiptoe through the tulips of life in our quest to commit our lives to another. Our hearts are exposed, defying the odds, believing instead that hope springs eternal.

WE REAP WHAT WE SOW

How can we expect a bountiful crop to feed upon if the fields of life are not rotated and seeded properly?

Quietly summer makes her arrival bringing forth an abundance of ripened fruits and vegetables. The technicolor of life plays in the theaters of our eyes while we are entertained with glorious beauty that surrounds us.

Autumn is a season or a state of being, signifying a time of exhausted minerals, nutrients, growth and energy. The earth has performed well, but alas she is tired and needs the winter months to sleep and restore herself for another year. Many creatures and plants will live to see another season, yet sadly, some will not survive. It becomes apparent the cycle of life has been completed.

Knowledge teaches us the fundamentals of coexistence with the world. However, wisdom becomes our guide when navigating us through the changing lanes of life.

Age, life experiences and wisdom have taught me the reality that although I may know a little about a lot of subjects, in actuality, I know I don't know a lot about much of life. The cycle is an ongoing learning curve.

My travels on the Interstates of life led me in many directions. I faced hairpin turns, rain-slicked, ice covered and snow filled highways. Some routes brought me to the edge, resulting in cliffhanger perils. Mudslides created detours...providing me second chances to veer off of a dangerous course and hop on the slow and scenic country roads of serenity. It has been a lifetime of trial and error, but, in the final analysis, my navigational system has corrected itself and put me on the right path.

I have been taught much taking the tour of the seasons in my life. I've learned. I have gained knowledge. However, more importantly, wisdom has shown me how to be the person I aspired to be.

It's been a fantastic ride and I eagerly look forward to logging many more miles on this glorious journey.

WRITTEN BY: DENNIS L. PAGE