April 09, 2023
Spring Emergence
We’ve entered the final push of cold here in the Hudson Valley, the last stretch before the accelerated showering of blooms and leaves. All signs are pointing to preparation for new life—birds building nests, beaver pairs building homes for their soon to be families, daffodils and forsythia coming into bloom.
By Chrissy Lifton
As the ground thaws and the temperatures no longer make us shudder, perhaps we feel a similar readiness, even if reluctant, to emerge, re-engage, to interact more with the wider whole. In art and social theory, emergence refers to “the existence or formation of collective behaviors —what parts of a system do together that they would not do alone.”
Many of us are still in a process of emergence post-pandemic: still learning how to re-enter life, how to balance self-preservation with deep needs for connection. If joy and connection are critical to resilience, how might we build community resilience through our shared joy?
Here are some suggestions, some things that we’re looking forward to/beginning to do this spring to reconnect:
- Take time to observe what has changed in the landscape, on a walk or while sitting in nature...
- Learn the names of the trees and plants around us
- Visit the public library
- Get tickets for spring concerts
- Visit Harana Market for delicious homestyle Filipino food
- Bring clippings of blooming foliage indoors
- Visit art immersed in nature at Storm King
- Take longer walks outside (and say hi to neighbors)
- Go on a foraging walk with the Outside Institute
- Sign up for a community art class
- Tend to sprouts/begin to plant them
- Go to Quinnie’s for an afternoon sandwich
- Attend spring dinners at Bovina Farm and Fermentory
- Visit newly-opened MadexHudson in Catskill to shop all locally-produced goods!
