Today's
Quotation:
It does not astonish or make us angry that it
takes a
whole year
to bring into the house three great white
peonies and two pale blue iris. It seems altogether
right and appropriate that these
glories are earned
with long patience and faith. . . . and
also that it is altogether right and appropriate that they
cannot last.
Yet
in our human relations we are outraged when the supreme
moments, the moments of flowering, must be
waited for. . . .
and then cannot last. We
reach
a summit, and then have to go down again.
May Sarton |
Today's
Meditation:
There
is so very much that we can learn from the natural
world. We are constantly surrounded by reminders of
the cycles of life, the natural order of things, and if we
can just recognize and appreciate the lessons of the natural
world, our own lives could become so much easier and so much
more comprehensible. We live our lives in seasons much
as the flowers and the trees and the animals do, and one of
the reasons for which we tend to become unhappy or
frustrated is because we sometimes expect to live in
perpetual spring or summer, not allowing or wanting winters
to be a normal, important part of our lives. One
of the reasons that spring is so beautiful in the colder
areas of the world is because the flowers are coming after a
long period without them--we've been deprived of their
presence for a long time, so they mean much more to
us. We all know that for everything there is a season,
but most of us would like to make those seasons longer, or
to have some control over them. But
we have to let life be what it is. Life is a beautiful
experience, yet we tend to diminish its beauty by placing
our false expectations on it. One of my favorite art
forms is that of ice sculpting, for the artists have a clear
understanding of just how short-lived their works will
be--yet they're willing to put in hours of work to create
beautiful works of art. It's possible that some of the
most beautiful sculptures ever made have melted into puddles
of water, only seen by a limited number of people for a very
short time. Enjoy
the great parts of life, but enjoy them in the right here
and right now, which is truly the only time that we can
experience anything at all. And when their time to
leave comes, let them go with grace and dignity rather than
trying to hold on to them in desperation or fear that you
may never experience them again. You will, if you
simply let life be life, and accept the seasons of our lives
with love and trust that they will return. |