Daisy
Daisies are deceptive. Each face gladdens at the sight of them, but daisies aren’t “good enough” to take center stage in a bouquet. Daisies are, in other words, routinely taken for granted. We can use them as a crystal ball to focus on our fears and ego needs. What if we are completely ordinary and not special at all? What if we’re not even a flower but some kind of pestilent weed? Watch your fears run riot comparing your insides to other people’s outsides. This is a feedback loop leading back to that dark place where we surrender to helplessness and hopelessness. Let’s not go there. Does being special mean being alone? Is one-way admiration really what satisfies our ego? Aren’t we happier truly belonging, and what does belonging mean? Reciprocity is what we truly seek – reciprocity and recognition. Let’s not compare ourselves to others, but instead pat ourselves on the back for getting this far, and reward ourselves by breaking free of the feedback loop. How gifting ourselves a fresh bouquet of spring flowers? “I am special – just like everyone else.”
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The Columbine
Plants are medicinal, possessing secret properties as yet unseen and unknown. We all possess such secret properties and even gifts we have yet to explore. We can soothe ourselves as we nourish others. Our best dreams are components of our soul, lighting our way forward. “I heal myself” The Pond
At last, a small stretch of the universe to call our own. Not some big crashing ocean or an endless vista but a modest pool we can get our psychic arms around. Our small plans can become big plans; or not. As we let go of our fear of the future we realize how the inevitable knowledge of our own smallness and mortality has been holding us back. Like an animal puffing up fur at the sight of a predator we have been attempting to make ourselves bigger. Now that gambit has visibly failed as we have sapped ourselves of flexibility, suppleness and strength. We are too easily exhausted and overwhelmed. But in the pond, we can swim end to end. We can explore the entire bank. We can claim it as our own. That doesn’t mean we will never travel, acquire, experiment or dare. It means that in mindfully exploring our Now we will accept and celebrate its edges as we define and refine our own. “My world is joy” The Tulip
Tulips are powerful all by themselves, but it turns out the idea of tulips is even more powerful. In the seventeenth century wealthy Dutch families bankrupted themselves in pursuit of an illusion; the perfect commodity to embody riches; tulip bulbs. We laugh these days at the mass hysteria, desperation and foolishness of long ago traders. Yet the history of our pursuit of financial, mental, physical and spiritual wholeness is rife with scammers, snake oil and the broken bodies and spirits of disappointed masses who chose the wrong guru, scheme or panacea to ease their path. What can we learn from this? The first lesson is obvious; our health is in our own hands and is very much a matter of self-perception. That said, we pay attention to those we love and to the expressions of panic and fear in their eyes. Some health plans are foolish on their face: “only eat white things”, “take a special pill”, “the medical establishment can’t be trusted.” Let love guide us; “I seek wholeness” The Poppy How can such a beautiful plant be emblematic of so much harm? Yet morphine was – and still is – vital in tolerating intractable pain. This mix of benefit and torment hits us where we live as we try to negotiate the present and plan for the future. Life can seem awfully pale – even pointless, without our “chosen drug.” Each day we commit to putting one step in front of the other so that we can get to tomorrow. But don’t forget to contemplate all the treasures along the way; many beauties that take thought, time, development of our aesthetic taste to appreciate. Snails. Squid. Bonsai trees. Mushrooms, crows, flounder. The pleasure we learn to take in these is our endorphin against pain and misery. What are your Unlikely Favorites? Mantra : “I relish the unexpected” The Daffodil
Daffodils embody freshness and hope. First flowers of spring, they appear briefly, sway in the wind, then they are gone. We treasure their message of renewal. Cravings, negative thoughts, self-punishment, are also ephemeral. If we concentrate on something else, engage in positively purposeful activity, they vanish. Sometimes we succumb to tears over loss, mistakes, and past suffering. But tears can heal. They are a necessary part of the process, watering our future, and we should not be ashamed of them. Tears are human. Why not find some spring flowers and bury our faces in their clean, fresh scent, remembering that “Tears Heal”. The Rose
Maybe the reason we love roses is that they are so ephemeral. Each rose time capsules a moment. Others seem to value their tightly budded state, before they have experienced any of life’s vicissitudes. Not me. I like a mature rose, fully exploded with plenty of petals to drop – just like me. A rose that has been through some things and is no longer vulnerable. So there. “I revel in my wisdom” Ladyslipper
Are we special? Unique? Extraordinary? How would we know we were? How would we know if we weren’t? How does it matter. Much as we all like to fantasize about being a nonpareil, the flip side of singletonia is loneliness and incomprehension. We are all born feeling special, hard as life tries to convince us of the opposite. What’s THAT about? It’s almost as if we came from a place of ecstatic love to which we ever after long to return. Time to put some muscle into our “individuality” and stop ping-ponging back and forth between “just a face in the crowd” and “queen of the world.” A good way to start is to stop apologizing for ourselves. We are a work in progress. Don’t defend, apologize or explain your under-construction life plan, say, “I’m working it out.” Mantra: “I’m proud of who I am.” Foxglove
How do we develop the confidence to choose the “right course”, stay on the “right” course, or even assess the “rightness” of any course, considering all our past mistakes? We need “heart strengthening.” “Foxglove” is the source of digitalis, a powerful heart medication. Listen to your heart. What do we wish to ask? What is the difference between a “strengthening” or “harming” path? Some people are more confident following an “experts recommend” course exactly, others adapt and customize as they go to achieve a path that feels personally designed. I look for joy. Joy is the moment when planets and moments all click into alignment and we feel we accepted as a beloved child of the universe. Let’s unclog our ears, remove the plank from our vision and simplify our world to recapture the moments of joy experienced in childhood. Hunger, confusion and uncertainty were part of it, but a trusted loving, guiding force rescued us over and over again, prompting us to respond with a love as generous as we can summon. “I am open” Clinging Vine
So what if we can’t stand up without help? Let’s face it: NONE OF US CAN STAND UP WITHOUT HELP and the ones who won’t admit it are delusional. The question is finding non-exploitational help and can we help anyone in return without jeopardizing our own growth? Our daily existence is a complex orchestration between everything that’s in us and everything that’s “out there”. This explains bizarre fears of loss of the borders of self, owing to our longing is to go everywhere, be everyone and do everything. But here’s the astonishing fact: our minds are a multiverse. We really CAN go everywhere and do see everything; just not all at once. This is a power we can increase with practice. It requires coming to terms with self-destructive tendencies and recognizing them in others. “Permission granted” |
Alysse aallynpoet...playwright... Archives
September 2022
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