Flowers that differ from the plant !

A plant which receives least of attention in our plant deck at home produced these flowers now this week. The plant has an ugly stem, long and slender leaves and not so desirable odour that even insects keep away from the plant.

I have been surprised by its colour in the pink range; the wavy funnel shaped petals, the central vein reaching till the tip of the petals, the narrow end of the funnel variant in colour; the wavy edges of the petals and its wide open mouth...I felt it that it gave me a filamentous feel. It  is neutral in odour!

This is the fifth day since the three flowers opened. From the fresh look of it, it seems to have many more days before the petals would wither away!

A tree is is known by its fruits, which is a Biblical metaphor from the sayings of Jesus of Nazareth.

The external appearance of a tree is no true revelation of the nature of its flowers or fruits.  A jack fruit tree does not have an impressive or elegant look, but it produces a fruit that  equals to a delicacy. So it is with a coconut tree. The slender and tall stem with the palm leaves do not appear attractive. But the kernel with its water inside well protected in a shell covered by layers of fibres is a fruit that has few comparisons with other fruits.

I live in  a culture, where height, weight, skin colour, heritage of the family, wealth, etc matter so much. They are just external things which ought to fade away from our thinking. What is seminal is  is the nature of the fruit a person bears! Fruits and flowers reveal the true nature of a plant or tree.

What we bring out from the heart, (conduct and character) to others matter a lot more than what is shown by our appearance. 

Jesus of Nazareth commented that, 'from the heart proceeds all things..' In fact what we speak from our heart can heal or hurt.

I feel good for the three flowers that differ from the appearance of the plant. The flowers enhance the plant and dispel all biases towards the palnt.

Get to 'know' people and not go by the appearance was what was told me by Dr Frank Garlick in 1976, when he visited me in the medical college hostel at Nagpur. 

These three flowers reminded me of that truth.

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)