Spring has sprung

Though 2022s official arrival of the Vernal (Spring) Equinox is not until this coming Sunday (03/20/22), let's take a two-day break now - and leave the mutating enteric pathogens, GFSI preparations pending non-announced audits; sneaky & clandestine PETA & HSUS myopic acts; understanding OSHA regs seemingly written in Ancient Greek; Ha-sip flow-charts; and the myriad challenges that the nearly always under-rated / under - valued Human Resource Departments faces on a quotidian basis from both sides - and enjoy today's blog and- - - St. Patty's day blog this Thursday 03/17/22.

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"The spring wakes us, nurtures us and revitalizes us.

How often does your spring come?

If you are a prisoner of the calendar, it comes (but) once a year.

If you are creating authentic power, it comes frequently, or very frequently."

- Gary Zukav is a master teacher and author of four consecutive New York Times Bestsellers - Gary is dedicated to the unprecedented transformation in human consciousness

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By Steve Sayer

According to Greek Mythology, Persephone, the queen of the underworld, was?the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the goddess of harvest and fertility. She was also called Kore, which means "maiden" and grew up to be a lovely girl attracting the attention of many-a- gods.

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When the early signs of spring reveal its myriad faces, it seems that everything is augustly restored with a relentless domino effect seemingly without end.?

Deciduous trees, and "like-flora" - play catch-up to the evergreens; while annual flowers of every possible color start their blossoming - fern fronds begin their slow but sure unraveling from their home from within - always twisting and aiming upwards towards endless acres of sky - and if you're serendipitously enough - buttermilk clouds at sunset or sunrise that are displayed beyond one's horizon.

Tiny round black spots contrasting the candy-apple red coloring of ladybugs - can be seen slowly stretching out their delicate wings under the suns warms rays - while - resting on a rare four-leaf clover with three tiny perfectly symmetrical transparent dew spheres by her one side - as a lofty bluebird is in sporadic song as she gathers sticks and pine needles for her pending nest - exactly as her kin millions upon millions upon hundreds of millions of centuries gone by - once did.

A seemingly terrain cursed caterpillar - begins spinning its cocoon - transforming enough to be envious by all terrain bound Rollie-Pollies - of its newfound colors and flight abilities - though more importantly - becoming a fully free and autonomous papilionem hybrid - if there ever was one.?

A natural cross-pollinator - cleverly and thoughtfully disguised as a shiny rainbow hued hummingbird - equipped by ancient Mother Nature, (and a sure Darwinian survivor), with nearly invisible wings of feather - miraculously and always un-expectantly - rockets on by - powered by a melting pot of flora and their inveterate instinct of sharing their sweet enticing nectar to all who call.

Even black shiny spiders, some with perfectly shaped red hourglasses, gets into the act as they trampoline high above from splintered and dusty 4x4 wooden rafters on their remarkably translucent webs - made of seemingly oriental silk.

How sublime it is when fauna / flora wake up once again - in near union every spring from the seemingly uncompromising clutches of a long, cold and inclement winter - if - one has a trained # eye (# & U all do) and a time-learned appreciation for such tiny free delights 24/7/365 - - - enhanced with re-furbished partly home-made birdhouses for all those pending Dino eggs - that R synonymous with spring ... .?

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Ahhh, ancient Greek Mythology holds the non-patented rights to one of the 1st recorded accounts (so too regarding a kaleidoscope of isolated nomads world-wide / countless extinct tribes / American Indians / early Egyptians / Mexico's Aztec's - to name but a few) of the marvels of spring and summer - and - the genesis of a cold fall and impending freezing winter.?

This ancient anecdote is worth telling and revisiting for all ages (begin sharing this myth during their third trimester - complimented with some soft classical music in the background - trust me ... .) - especially its surreptitious appeal that is always germane to us individually - it just requires a teaspoon full of imagination - which is supposedly unique and innate of us Homo sapiens - the experts tell us - along - they suspect - selected aquatic mammals such as (not surprisingly) - dolphins.

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A young and beautiful Goddess named Persephone lived in Greece.

Her mother, Demeter, was the Earth Goddess who was responsible for trees, plants, and crops to grow and multiply.

The myth slowly reveals how Demeter taught and exposed to mankind the secret of cultivating, sowing, and harvesting of grains and fruits for their sustenance.

As the ancient legend unfolds further, Persephone was dancing alone in a bountiful field of flowers when the earth suddenly opened with an overpowering thunder that shook the ground and surrounding trees.

Out of the tundra came a black chariot led by two dark looking horses with eyes that glowed lava hot with red/orange flickering fire flames - not too unlike the rumored 13th century stone hearth of King Henry III, (10/01/1207 - 11/16/1272, of Winchester, Hampshire, England, who reigned from 1216 to 1272).

In the chariot and holding the?reins was Hades - the feared Lord of the Underworld.

He kidnapped the striking Persephone and took her to the Underworld to be his wife.

However, as the earth closed up behind them, Persephone’s belt accidentally fell to the earth.

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When Persephone didn’t come home, her mother searched frantically to all horizons of earth.

As the months slowly passed, Demeter grew so miserable and sad - that she forgot to make the entire plant life on earth grow.

The warm, green and abundant earth turned brown, bleak and cold - for the first time.?

Earth’s inaugural fall and winter thus came to pass - with one of Shakespeares classic infamous one fell swoop(s).

One day a shepherd boy brought to Demeter her daughter’s belt that he’d found in a field near an opening to the Underworld.

Demeter accurately surmised what had happened.

She went straight to Zeus sitting atop Mt. Olympus, the King of the Gods, and told him that if he didn’t order Hades to free Persephone, the earth would remain lifeless without end.

Zeus agreed and told Hades he must free Persephone.

Demeter went to the Underworld to bring back her daughter - but quickly discovered that something dreadful and unforgiving had happened.?

Persephone had eaten a few pomegranate seeds, (a common / very popular fertility symbol in those times), while in the Underworld.

According to law, if one ate pomegranate seeds - even a Goddess - they could never leave the Underworld.

With Persephone still locked in the Underworld, Demeter continued to refuse to make anything grow, as her misery became worse.

In light of this, the Gods made a deal with Hades - for every pomegranate seed Persephone had eaten, she would spend one month a year, every year, for eternity with Hades.

Demeter agreed to this and Persephone returned to earth's tundra with her mother as Demeter’s happiness once again returned.?

The earth soon flourished with a cornucopia of grains, fruits and wild blossoms bearing forth to the relief and joy of all mankind.

But because of the abiding draconian curse of the pomegranate seeds, which is typical of Greek and Roman myths, Persephone to this day still leaves her mother causing fall and winter for all of mankind to manage.

As the miracles of this spring are already flying, singing and budding all around us - and - if - you have an # eye (# and U do) and appreciation for such miracles like others I know do - then we shall be confident that Demeter and Persephone are together once again - singing in union the ancient songs of spring.

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Scheduled for Thursday