As I thought, yesterday afternoon, about my day, I realized, to my chagrin, I had failed to acknowledge the birthday of a very important person:  Johannes Sebastian Bach.  Wrapped in the advent of the meteorological spring, Bach's birthday comes replete with the sounds of singing birds, greening forests, and deeper skies.  And his music fits the season.  Fresh, bright, and resonant with joy, Bach's music echoes the wonder of the newly born creation.
     And regardless of how one sees the universe's origins (though the frequent reader no doubt knows my loyalties in this regard), we can all, I think, enjoy the coming of spring.  We can also all see ourselves as creatures who, like Bach, have potential, actors and thespians (as Shakespeare said in As You Like It, "All the world is a stage"), people who can create and enjoy every day.
    We thank Bach for what he has shown us about spring.  We also thank Bach for giving us a glimpse of the unfolding mystery, and the mystery behind it, of this vast, vast--and loved--universe in which we revel.
     So did Bach write on every piece of music he composed, "Soli Deo Gloria" (All Glory to God Alone).  Bach knew from whence all things come.