A day after the farewell service of Dr Frank Garlick in Brisbane, it is a good time to prepare to move forward!
I noticed this single flower on a lily plant in our garden. After a dry spell it had received water and the flower had blossomed. It was open, bright and inviting to the bees to enjoy its nectar!
Its presence made the garden look cheerful and pleasing!
Being present to the moment, with an openness to see, hear, feel, think, consider and engage is a healthy way of living. The is in contrast to living pre-occupied!
As I drove into the car park on reaching the hospital yesterday, a friend greeted me and pointed out to me the new shoots in a potted plant on one side of the car park. It is silently present giving new shoots since it was planted four months ago. I often noticed that plant and on the days when the plant was dry, I remember carrying it to the nearby tap to water it.
I was touched by the symbol that this plant offered me to think about! In fact a friend brought this to me one day to keep it in the parking space allotted to me in the hospital.
To be present and open to receive in order to bloom and grow into fullness!
Life is such a two way process - receiving and giving!
We receive when we take what is given to us and allow the experiences to enable growth.
A mother told me yesterday that ever since she noticed that her son was needing help in his learning, she prepared herself each day to give him some special experience when he returned from school. One of these was to help him to make a scrap book of pictures and drawings that he had been enjoying for the last six months. During the forty-five minutes she spent with him doing this exercise, her son would tell her about his experiences in the class room. Following this unburdening, she found it was easier for her son to do the home work, which was earlier such a difficult task. She transformed the demanding exercise of the evening into a pleasant activity by finding a way to be present to her son in a way that he could receive it!
To me, this was a good example of listening, giving and receiving!
Becoming present, enables us to to be giving when the other person is ready to receive!
The lily above is an illustration of how the plant flowered when it received its nutrients.
Staying still and open to the present to the moment is the way of living - open to receive and ready to give!
I stay pondering over this life lesson!
M C Mathew (text and photo)
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