Weekly Technetic #12: The new spring
For cultures birthed in the temperate zones of the world, which comprise a majority of the most important and most advanced among us, spring is almost universally seen as a time of renewal and rebirth. Often, there are religious trappings associated with the changing of the seasons, and this is for good reason. Agrarian life was structured around the calendar, the long winter months signifying a time in which the earth couldn't produce its usual bounty. The change to spring meant a return to planting, to living.
It's a common thread in mythology and later types of fiction alike. We even see the season portrayed in media with its own personality: spring is a time for love. Again, that makes sense. While winter is the perfect time to get a little closer, thanks to the long, cold nights and sheer lack of other activities, spring becomes the chance to return to society, for those who are still looking for that special someone to get out there and find him or her. All those emotions and needs bottled up for three months can come rushing out now that they have the chance.
All the other connotations of spring follow the same pattern: spring cleaning, spring planting, and even spring training, for those of you who haven't completely given up on professional baseball. In every case, it's all about making something new. Winter was the time to sleep, but spring is the time to wake up.
As technetics, let's take that into consideration. We've all done bad things, or at least not enough good things. We spent the winter months in darkness, whether literal or figurative. Now, it's time to step back out into the light, and to let our inner light shine onto others.
Technetism is not a philosophy of penance, but we recognize that many followers are adherents of faiths that ask it. If that's the case for you, then do what you must to atone for your prior transgressions, but don't dwell on them. Once you have paid whatever price is required, turn away from thoughts of what you have done. Instead, focus on what you will do.
We will be better. That should be one of your goals for the coming season. Find some way in which you are lacking, and work to remedy it. Maybe you want to learn something, build something, do something. If so, now is a good time to start planning. On the other hand, you might feel you need to stop doing certain things. And that's fine, too. Take some time to work out how to silence those negative or unhealthy urges, then take the steps needed.
Be better. For yourself, for those you love, for humanity as a whole. This is good advice at all times, as it is the simplest, most direct call for eudaemonia, but it's a message best heard at times like these. We're already primed for change in ourselves; we only need that one final push.
Let this be that push, that impetus to make yourself into something great.