Seasonal change in the first 100 days

April 29, 2009 marks President Obama’s 100th day in office. There is symbolism in the seasonal climate in which Barack Obama took the oath of office as President of the United States, and the climate when both friends and foes will mark this milestone in his term of leadership.

Others will dissect his every utterance and the significance of every act on this occasion.  I prefer to add a little romance to this superficial time-marker.  Why not look to nature for signs of the natural flow of events and deeds in the evolution of the Obama presidency?

It was a cold and windy day in the District of Columbia when Barack Obama made his promise of loyalty and leadership with ice on the ground and the earth packed hard as a rock.  But instead of retreating from the frigid environment, millions of people bundled up to witness history.  They walked for miles and stood for hours, packed together like migratory birds.  They came with the hope that the dismal state of the nation at that moment would pass, just as seasons do; he’d made that promise to them. They had faith that the country, like the seasons, would work its way through the worst of the winter crisis.

Today’s turbulent world requires reminders like blooming bulbs, to keep faith and hope alive.  I have often looked at my own box of dry, brown bulbs and wondered how they manage to transform themselves when it comes time to blossom again.

But I don’t let the mystery of their rebirth stop me from digging a hole and placing them in the earth, with confidence that a lovely flower will emerge one day.

Spring requires more faith than winter does.  Part of the joy of the season is the anticipation that nature will provide all that is necessary to glorify the earth and make it bloom again, if we tend to our gardens.

We have all watched the seeding of a new direction for America over the last hundred days. Not everyone is pleased with that direction, but the seeds are planted and spring is here. Flowers will bloom, tree buds will turn to leaves and fruit will fall, if we all mulch the soil, water the plants and protect the bulbs.  Now it’s our turn to rekindle the faith that brought hundreds of thousands of us to the cold, hard grounds of the National Mall, to witness history blossom before our very eyes.

Plant your own American dream, get involved and become part of the solutions that will arise as the seasons change.  We owe it to ourselves and to our country to believe in the seasons of life.

This story was originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle online edition, The Gate on April 28, 2009.