"Oubaitori"
Welcome to April—the cruelest month, as the poet says. And I agree. To me, it's always been a bittersweet mixture of what is no longer and what has yet to be created. There's also a teasing element to the month. The warmth of spring surfaces, only to
be followed by raw, chilly rain. If nothing else, it's a reminder that all of life is a process and within that process are a series of steps, creating the path forward.
So let's dive a little deeper into this seasonal practice and consider an elegant explanation of this
unfolding. There's a wonderful Japanese idiom that explains what we tend to call right timing: "oubaitori" (桜梅桃李).
It not only reflects the emergence of spring but also the specific timing of when four different fruit trees blossom: cherry, plum, peach and
apricot. While there is an overall timing to the season of spring, within that timing is the specific blossoming of each tree. They all have their own particular blueprints for growth.
Sound familiar?
The lovely piece about this idiom is the reminder that we too have our own time frames and arcs of coming forward into our own. We're all growing and blooming at our own pace—not the pace of others—our own. It takes the time it takes. It's a process, not a product.
How does this concept of "Oubaitori" land with you? (2:24)
