Circle of Life > `Celebration of Seasons’ blesses reader with refreshed spirit

BE BLEST: A CELEBRATION OF SEASONS, written and illustrated by Mary Beth Owens, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1999; 32 pages, $16.

Winter-weary parents, I have what you need. Mary Beth Owens’ “Be Blest: A Celebration of Seasons” combines a fountain of spiritual refreshment for you with a visual feast that will satisfy even the youngest toddler.

For each month of the year a typical Maine nature scene is juxtaposed with a wreath-encircled poem. Each wreath is an intricate composition of native birds, insects, critters, flowers, fruits, and other treasures of forest, meadow and pond. Each poem sensitively chronicles reasons to celebrate that time of year.

February, Owens’ favorite, shows sleeping animals: a bear with cubs, baby squirrels and a groundhog. Hibernating creatures have long fascinated her.

“It gives me a sense of security to think of those little animals tucked away in small places,” she said during a recent interview.

In the wreath, woven of tree branches and dead leaves, a raccoon, a porcupine, a skunk, birds and a rabbit are nestled. We are urged to be blessed by thoughts of slumbering animals and dormant bulbs.

In May in a nest in a blossoming apple tree, baby birds open their beaks eagerly as their mother arrives to feed them. Our bears and porcupine have awakened and joined a fox and a fawn in a wreath of budding tree limbs. We are exhorted to sing praise that “the earth makes from her nest.”

A July dusk is illuminated by glowing fireflies. Raccoons and other nocturnal mammals shuffle through a honeysuckle wreath. We are encouraged to rejoice “for creatures moving through the night …”

In October a white-tailed deer bounds through a shower of amber and crimson leaves. Migrating geese form the wreath. We are invited to “Give thanks for autumn’s golden glow …”

Owens lives in Walpole near the Damariscotta River, within walking distance of woods and orchard. She portrayed the changing seasons in her own back yard.

Owens, who considers St. Francis of Assisi a kindred spirit, was inspired to write “Be Blest” by the saint’s “Canticle of Brother Sun.”

“Francis recognized God’s presence in all things and saw relationships between people, animals of the fields and forests, birds, fish, insects, trees, flowers, stones, the sun, moon and stars, fire and water, rain and snow, light and dark,” said Owens. “All were included in his family circle as brothers and sisters.”

She is bothered by the way some religions separate the natural world from the spiritual and consider the former inferior. “When you observe the natural world you view the spirit of God.”

Owens believes that prayer and awareness of one’s connection to all of creation are valid and interconnected avenues to a knowledge of and communion with God.

“Praise and thanksgiving are the natural responses of a mind that knows the created world and a heart that is filled with gratitude. Rejoicing follows from the recognition of all the gifts around us,” she said.

Inspiring her book title and woven through each poem and illustrtion is this affirmation and Owens’ desire to nurture it in her readers.

“Whatever season you are in there is a blessing. It’s already there,” she said. “Open your eyes to be present to it. Even in the cold and barren times the seeds are there. When everything looks icy and frozen there is life.”

Owens’ work also has a model of abundance and generosity: “We must be aware of our fellow humans, willing to share with those in need.”

Cherish this book. But don’t just keep it at home. Let it help you discover the blessings in your own back yard, at your camp, or at your favorite outdoor refuge. Keep your eyes and ears open and you will discover treasures money can’t buy.