Buds and Leaves !

The two Black headed Orioles were moving between trees in the evening, while calling out in a sonorous tone to reach otter, which is what took me to the garden at dusk. Their colourful  plumage and immaculately groomed body, although hidden in the foliage, caught my attention. The bright colours were in contrast to the green foliage around. Their voice tones and body behaviour indicated that they were in courtship. 

Just below one of the trees, was a rose bush with a single flower, showing signs of having endured the rainfall of the last couple of days with its fading colour.  That alerted me to look for the flowering stages of other rose bushes in the garden. 

All the buds and partially open flowers in the above pictures told me two stories. 

The first was the vibrant life in each of them. They were soaked in incessant rain for two days, which do not favour the buds. Yet, the buds were preserved. 

The second part of the story is the partially eaten leaves in the stem. Insects have found their way. The leaves are food for the caterpillars. 

The buds and leaves are most vulnerable to weather and pests. They grow in a threatening environment. 

I was going through a difficult experience of recollecting a stressful phase in my life. It was an experience which consumed my wellness and taxed my discerning skill. I had not known the extent to which that experience intruded into my wellness! 

Seeing the buds and leaves survive the adverse situation brought to me an optic to view that experience differently. Although they bear the marks of what they endured, the leaves and bud thrive resiliently. 

Watching the Orioles sing to each other and the buds and leaves share their resilient spirit brought a refreshing awareness about life, which is unfolding in spite of all circumstances. 

I noticed this croton plant in the corner of the garden with its foliage of different colours. The leaves different in colour represent different formative seasons in the life of a plant. 

Life that I live is an expression of different formative experiences in life. To receive life,  with the diversity that it represents,  is a calling! To view the diverse experiences as integral to becoming our true self, is a transition process. In the seventh decade in my life, it is an integrating experience, where life events bring a confluence to give coherent view to life. It brings comfort and peace. 

I returned form the garden with a sense of wonder! What we see and hear can resonate within to bring deeper meaning and consolation! We shall be formed and renewed when we are open to receive what we see and hear! 

Life's inherent instinct is to be on a journey into transformation to live with a new consciousness that 'it is in God we live, move and have our being'!

The stanzas of a hymn by Hugh T. Kerr came to my mind:

God of our life, through all the encircling years,

We trust in Thee,

In all the past, through all our hopes and fears,

Thy hand we see,

With each new day, when morning lifts the veil,

We own Thy mercies, Lord, which never fail.

God of our past, our times are in Thy hands,

With us abide

Lead us by faith to hope's true promised land,

Be Thou our guide,

With Thee to bless, the darkness shines as light,

And faith's fair vision changes into sight.

God of the coming years, through paths unknown,

We follow Thee,

When we are strong, Lord, leave us not alone,

Our refuge be,

Be Thou for us in life our Daily Bread,

Our heart's true home when all our years have sped.

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)