“Spirituality is not reserved exclusively for times of crisis and transition. It is interwoven into the fabric of the everyday. Spirituality helps people come to terms with human limitations.” Dr. Kenneth Pargament
Easter! Happy Easter! A time of chocolate and egg hunts, family meals and transformation. Spring-time … green grass, daffodils and crocus flowers, the budding of trees. Mother Earth comes alive at Easter. If we believe, Hershey’s rabbit will leave chocolate eggs for you as the sun rises Easter morning. When I visited my wee ones, I was greeted with a large bowl of colourful foil-covered eggs. He gleefully told me how he had strategically covered the area of the main floor and found all these lovely, sweet treats.
His crystal blue eyes danced as he took me around showing all the places where he had found them ready for his gathering. In the plants, on the shelf, top o’ the wall hanging, and behind the couch cushions. He gleefully, and with joy, shared the good news of discovery. I asked, “who left these all for you and your brother?” With conviction and true belief, he said, “The Easter Bunny!” and with that, I looked amazed. Mom and Dad went off to mass and I stayed with the busy ones at home. Keeping small children confined in the pew is hard enough without the added restrictions of COVID. They are happier at home. The wee one told his Mommy as she left, he would have his “trick or treat” after lunch! Wait! Is that not Hallowe’en language?!
It set me to wondering as Mom and Dad headed off to listen to the Easter story at church, when do we trade the Easter Bunny for the Empty Tomb/First Seder or fasting and meditation? Good Friday and Easter Sunday are the Christian stories (Starting with Ash Wednesday ending with Easter Sunday) overlayed with Passover (Jewish – March 27 – April 4) and leads into Ramadan (Islam – starts sundown April 13 this year). These three mainline religions of the world all have one common theme, a faith in the Easter Bunny or better said, a respect for spirituality. These traditions all have the Easter Bunny bringing chocolate to all the children, not wanting to let them down.
When I said to my family, how I would be putting pen to paper today and I was not sure of what to write, it was suggested I ask the readers to view life through the eyes of a four-year-old. In doing that I must focus on the Easter Bunny because it seems to be a common theme!
The Easter Bunny, like Santa and the Tooth Fairy, are all childhood wonders that at some point we are asked to leave behind. To continue to believe can be seen as odd. As we mature and grow, the magic of these concepts begins to be revealed and the mystery is solved. As we mature it is expected we will leave them behind. Until you have children of your own and then you can rekindle them! Yippee!
What if we simply refused to let go of our childhood faith? Hold on to our spirituality before it becomes connected to a particular religion or none at all? What if we believed, without letting go, while maturing faith in these parts of our lives? Morphing it into something that brings joy each and every day. Growing it into a rich understanding that the bunny, clause and fairies do exist if we choose to watch for their gifts. Searching for these gifts hidden in everyday life.
What if we chose to grow further into our trust in something bigger than us and stood tall with the bunny, clause and fairy as our allies to never give up and love our way through life? What if we built our hope in the everyday experiences that are good and enrich our time on this planet? What if we let our spirit experience a little mystery and set aside our disbelief just for a minute?
Spirituality helps people come to terms with human limitations and in the beginning, the bunny, clause and the fairy teach us to believe beyond what may be possible. Seeing life through that four-year-old lens, believing that bunnies bring chocolate, clause brings gifts, and fairies bring riches in exchange for a tooth is magical. "How about adults change direction and support the belief, as opposed to squashing it as untrue, why does it have to be one or the other? True being the Easter Bunny exists, or false, no bunny, they do not."
Let go of “ultimate anxiety” which is our fear of death and fate mixed with the anxiousness of emptiness and meaninglessness. Take it all and place it in the hands of your four-year-old self and see what you can believe in once again. Take back your faith, your spiritual quest and trust. Live looking for the gifts that are hidden and savour your bounty. Believe in the magic and know the bunny, clause and the fairy have your back! Happy Easter!
Cynthia Breadner is a grief specialist and bereavement counsellor, a soul care worker and offers specialized care in Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy with special attention to trauma resolution. She volunteers at hospice, works as a LTC chaplain and is a death doula, assisting with end-of-life care for client and family. She is the mother part of the #DanCynAdventures duo and practices fitness, health and wellness. She is available remotely by safe and secure video connections, if you have any questions contact her today! [email protected] breakingstibah.com