If you happen to live in a community with deep Christian roots, you would be hard pressed to miss the obvious signs of the Easter holiday. Depending upon your traditions, the holiday with all its cultural and religious meaning takes on different forms across families and communities. From colorful springtime flowers, baskets of eggs and candy, a symbolic rabbit, and the Christian cross, the holiday offers images to the changing of seasons and new beginnings.

As the weather warms and areas buried under frost begin to thaw, the environment around us awakens from its long winter dormancy – and so do we. It’s when the sunlight stretches out longer. It’s when outdoor activities become more commonplace. It’s when our new year’s goals really start getting put into motion. It’s when we can feel in our bones that rejuvenation is upon us. Some might even suggest Easter is when we in the northern hemisphere experience a seasonal rebirth – or a form of resurrection.

Resurrection, the act of being raised back to life from the finality of death, is the essential message of the Christian faith. The belief that individuals can and will be resurrected from the dead as part of a new and eternal heaven and earth is the hope that binds Christians together around the world. That belief, according to the tradition, is realized in the “Good Friday” death of Jesus Christ and his raising from the tomb in the predawn hours on a Sunday, roughly 2,000 years ago.

The concept and hope of resurrection is embedded in our daily lives. Everyday we experience more subtle forms of rebirth. The sun rises, a new day begins, new jobs are started, new products are made, new songs are written, new flowers bloom, and new ideas are envisioned. The daily practices and experiences of life can be seen as a reflection of the larger forces at work in the universe.

But why do anything? Why start something new? Why create? Why start over? Why learn? Why grow? Why accept others? Why, when we fall down, do we bother getting up and starting over again?

Humanity’s search for longevity of life and discovering meaning in our interconnected universe dates back to the dawn of early human consciousness. Some stories, traditions, and ideas live on while others become mythology of the ancient past. What does endure is the intrinsic belief that humanity is more than our physical existence – we are also spirit. There is, within each of us, an instinct for survival and greatness that keeps us looking and dreaming beyond.

If humanity is comprised of both the physical and spiritual-self destined to be delivered into an eternal life, then our natural instincts to build, create, dream, improve, and start over become the evolutionary daily habits that shape our purpose for living. If there exists any hope beyond the struggles and disappointments we experience in life, then our endeavors to improve the world and make it a better place for ourselves, loved ones, and our community is a sure reflection of the spiritual-self designed to continually and forever be renewed and restored. The hope of a resurrection – physical and spiritual beings meant to live forever – is what makes life meaningful and worth preserving for everyone.

As traditions change with each and every generation, Easter remains a cultural practice and belief in a story that life is beautiful, always changing, and meant to be shared with everyone, everywhere. Because we are made of the same substance that formed the stars and planets, we all belong to the created order. With or without belief in God, everyone is destined to find their place in our world and a home in the next.

Beyond its commercialized appeal, Easter is a symbol of hope and inclusion, purpose and faith, and the courage to create a better and thriving world for everyone. When we choose to participate in living up to that vision of hope, we’re fulfilling our spiritual instinct to resurrect life.