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"If we could see the miracle of a single flower our whole life would change" - Buddha
One of the best things, for me, about this time of year is ... bluebells!
I love the way they suddenly appear in the woods along the road from our house. One minute everything is sparse and wintry (although the woods are one of my favourite places all year round) and then, right on cue, more or less, they transform the brown twiggy floor into a gentle, glorious blaze of blue carpet.
Every year I'm compelled to make my way down there to find the best path through the trees that will lead to the perfect spot to pause and admire and breath and take in what to me is a soul-touching, meaningful and, being a writer, inspiring sight.
It's the combination of nature's perfect but natural, detailed and delicate artistry against the gentle woodland silence and sound of birdsong. So I have to sit there, on a log or tree stump, sometimes with son or husband or friend, watching and noticing nature's special bluebell message:
On it's own one single bluebell is tiny and fragile. And each one unique in a way. Beautiful and special, next time you have the chance notice the delicate petals, their little heads hanging demurely in clusters on one slim stem. Small, yes, but never too tiny or too fragile to withstand the unpredicable spring weather. Little miracles of nature. Perfect.
And then together they do something astonishing. The bracken and the nettles, the ivy and the mud are still there, but the woodland floor is transformed into a breathtaking blue covering that creeps from tree to tree and expands into all the spaces in-between.
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There's an almost magical and ethereal atmosphere sitting amongst this, as though you haven't really experienced the woods until you see this too.
Whatever else you are experiencing/have experienced in life THIS is here too.
The miracle of bluebells are a reminder that life gives us as individuals a mixture of stuff, experiences, ups and downs, brilliant moments, terrible moments and everything in-between. But overall, when we step back and pause for long enough we can see and begin to understand the complete picture or tapestry of our own lives too. All the experiences and moments woven together to make the whole.
And more than that. Whatever force of life caused the beginnings of the creation of these perfect little flowers caused our beginnings too. While different, we are all part of the same creation. Essentially what nurtures and enables them to live nurtures and enables us to live too. The same nature with its cycles of beginnings, renewals, change and endings...we are all part of the same miracle.
So I'm noticing the bluebells and feeling inspired.
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Whatever has gone before I will make something beautiful again. |
