This morning as I walked to my car I noticed that the thistle in our front yard had burst out with about eight blooms.
Days earlier I found myself wondering how I was going to take it down, its tall spike-filled stalk turning a mustard brown with the fading of summer. The remnants of its last bloom had been wisked away by the wind leaving only the white broken end of an empty stalk.
But today, after a weekend's worth of rain and wind the persistent plant had pushed out several purple tufted bulbs with two bumble bees clinging to its nectar.
Today I celebrate that little burst of life, the reminder that it will hold on through the winter to be reborn in the Spring. From the weakened stalk a beautiful punch of bright color broke through.
Even when you feel like you're not at your best, like you're failing at life, beauty and growth is still possible. You're not dead until you're dead... and even then, as with the thistle, the seeds of what you've created will spread and grow again.
Showing posts with label rebirth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rebirth. Show all posts
Monday, October 16, 2017
Monday, April 24, 2017
First Things: The Happiness of Resurgence
I love Spring.
Every day I walk around our yard checking on spots where we have perennials, hoping to see the start of their resurgence... coming back to life after the winter. When we first moved into the house in April, 2010 it was even more fun because we didn't know what was there. New surprises showed up every week.
Having been in the house for seven years there are still surprises... the hibiscus that planted itself along our sidewalk; beside our existing one and then showed us that it's pink instead of it's bigger, older neighbor's red; the rebirth of two Lilly bulbs I thought were for sure dead last year; and the abundance of these beautiful little weeds wherever we put down new soil last year around our fire pit patio. Although they are weeds, I quite enjoyed seeing them (all the same) spring up, shouting to the sun WE MADE IT!!! I think I'll leave a couple of them, in support of their fortitude.
And I have to say that I think that's what I love most about this time of year. The joy these plants, and trees, and even the grasses bring to the world - if only for themselves. They are happy to be back, happy to be alive, happy to be reborn.
Perhaps we should wake up each morning form our little winters with the same kind of joyful expectations - that it's a new day, a new time to unfurl our leaves and grow again - the same, but different, perhaps stronger or more beautiful than before.
Every day I walk around our yard checking on spots where we have perennials, hoping to see the start of their resurgence... coming back to life after the winter. When we first moved into the house in April, 2010 it was even more fun because we didn't know what was there. New surprises showed up every week.
Having been in the house for seven years there are still surprises... the hibiscus that planted itself along our sidewalk; beside our existing one and then showed us that it's pink instead of it's bigger, older neighbor's red; the rebirth of two Lilly bulbs I thought were for sure dead last year; and the abundance of these beautiful little weeds wherever we put down new soil last year around our fire pit patio. Although they are weeds, I quite enjoyed seeing them (all the same) spring up, shouting to the sun WE MADE IT!!! I think I'll leave a couple of them, in support of their fortitude.
And I have to say that I think that's what I love most about this time of year. The joy these plants, and trees, and even the grasses bring to the world - if only for themselves. They are happy to be back, happy to be alive, happy to be reborn.
Perhaps we should wake up each morning form our little winters with the same kind of joyful expectations - that it's a new day, a new time to unfurl our leaves and grow again - the same, but different, perhaps stronger or more beautiful than before.