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Scent of Light Episode
by Ken Norton
Renewal
Passover, Easter, Pandemic, and Spring all calling
for Renewal.
Broadcast on April 12, 2020
Mp3 Player
The audio file above is the spoken word recording
without background music provided to Radio KOWS 92.5 FM broadcast of the
Scent of Light episode for insert into the Radio Spotlight Magazine
with host Andre Marc.
In this episode on the Scent of Light I will speak on
Renewal.
I composed this episode during Passover which
coincided this year with the Holy Week that precedes Easter. Both religious
holidays resonate with the message that renewal is possible, though maybe
not in the same way as the zealous descriptions of these events in the Bible
relay. The spirit of renewal is conveyed through learning from the
Scriptures to recognize the thirst for freedom in the midst of a state of
being or feeling oppressed by a seemingly all powerful political force, like
a Pharaoh enslaving your people and denying your cultural traditions or a
Caesar's Governor in your occupied land crucifying your beloved teacher with
other dissidents.
We learn that natural events like plagues, wasting by
locusts, and sudden infant death can be elements in blunting or transforming
the balance of power and enable change and renewal of a people’s governance
in alignment with their cultural values. We also learn of the staying power
of Principles with students after their Teacher dies.
The cold winter months often provide a bleak scene as many plants die back
with the shorter daylight hours and the skies are generally cloudy.
Sometimes the cold of winter seems like it will never end, especially if it
affects senior joints and lungs. But it does give way at Equinox to Spring.
This time of the year fresh greens sprout up and the trees bare branches
begin to burst with leaves. Spring is a time of renewal.
I just planted some seeds of vegetables and herbs. A
seed with a little water will start the growth process, sending a tiny shoot
to part the soil particles and navigate around stones to reach the surface
and sunlight. Through the process of photosynthesis the light unites with
the products of the plant’s genetic principles to create chlorophyll, and
the shoot continues to rise, adding branches and leaves. Through my response
to this Spring renewal I will have harvests ready in the Summer and Fall.
Many people are confined to their residences around
the world taking precautions for the pandemic. This isolation or social
distancing of individuals and families reminds me of the isolation of seeds
through their hard casings in the dark. A surrender to the penetration of
water and cell multiplication starts its journey of renewal. We can use this
time to penetrate the hard beliefs we hold dear to discover a deeper inner
purpose for which the beliefs have served their purpose of protecting until
this time of renewal, and we can rise into the Spring imposing its new
conditions among some familiar ones.
Renewal come with the seasons and with our stages of
human development. Our beliefs as children had to be modified when we were
first sent off to school, when we hit puberty, graduated from high school,
starting new jobs, getting married, having kids, and becoming seniors
babysitting grandkids. Each new relationship is a renewal of sorts. We can
say that these renewals also came with deaths of old priorities and
behaviors.
Renewal accompanies natural disasters, especially
with this corona virus pandemic that is affecting the bodily and economic
well-being of so many. There are new ways we will have to learn in order to
cope and then thrive with the conditions imposed by the virus and our
societal response with restrictions through emergency acts.
Once risen, a sprouting seed does not remain a rugged
individualist but begins to form relationships with other species like
bacteria, fungus and insects in and above the soil to enhance its growth
while enhancing theirs. We can do the same with our renewal as it is not
only for us individually but opens us to observe Nature around us and seek
beneficial relationships with its various species, while strengthening our
human bonds in the community.
Many of us are now given the opportunity to reflect
on lives lived and what is needed to rise to the call of renewal, so each of
us will express our true purpose in building a healthy environment and just
community through our healthy and loving relationships.
.This is Ken Norton on the Scent Of Light. You can
contact me via Ken at KennethENorton.com and I would be glad to hear from
you. The Scent of Light episodes are archived on the web at
kennethenorton.com.
Thanks for listening.
About the Author and Producer
Ken Norton earned his master's degree in Materials Science from Stanford
University as the Vietnam War was ending. During that time Ken served as the
personal assistant to a poet/sociologist Dr. William Hermanns as he prepared
his writings for publication, exposing Ken to not only the sciences but also
the humanities and comparative religion for making conscious and
conscionable choices.
Ken is a regular contributor to Radio Spotlight Magazine with his episodes
on the Scent of Light.
Ken Norton in practice of Tai Chi Chuan
2018 Photo by Elaine B. Holtz
I co-produce Women's Spaces Show with my loving partner and its host
Elaine B. Holtz. Take a visit. All the shows are archived on the website.
----
I am the Trustee and Archivist. Visit the website I built in honor of my
mentor.
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Be still and know,
We're in the flow
Of Love to grow
From seeds we sow.*
Kenneth E. Norton
* stanza from his poem Intuition's Joy
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