Every year at this time, many people reflect on the year’s events. They think about the joys, the successes and the failures. Many of these events were life changing—others are merely little blips.
One of the joys of living in near-tropical climate is that the seasons are not experienced so much by dramatic changes in the weather but rather but the nuances of the way vegetation responds to the annual cycles of weather. Unlike in our previous home in Minnesota where weather drama was the order of the day, we only see subtly here in Merida. Notwithstanding the rise in temperature in the summer and the burst of rain in the rainy season, things are consistent.
This subtly is perfect for where my soul is right now. As I age and near 70 in a few years, I know that my days are waning. I know that each day could be one of my last. While I am an optimistic person and do not wallow in morbidity, I do pay attention to how I am feeling on a day-to-day basis. This keeps my body and mind in rhythm.
Each morning we have fallen flowers on our stone walkway between the bedroom building and the living / kitchen building. These small, tubular yellow flowers gave up their life overnight from our climbing vine called the Mandevilla. It is a genus of tropical and subtropical vines belonging to the dogbane family, Apocynacea. It was named after a British diplomat and gardner, Henry Mandeville in 1840. As I walk from a deep sleep to my morning espresso, I pass these fallen flowers. They graced our previous day with bright yellow faces and each night they fall silently to the ground—to be replaced the next day with more.
These fallen flowers are a metaphor for my life. Each day, my body deteriorates one more cycle. I am closer to the end of life. But, like the Mandevilla, my body generates new cells (albeit in fewer numbers now) and I try to live the day with a bright face and cheerfulness. Like the wide open blossoms, I see beauty each day. I also, like the fallen flowers, see sadness. Who sacrificed their spirit for a cause; who gave up their life for others to have a better world; who lives in poverty so their children can have a better life? It is these fallen flowers, these heroes of our consumptive society, that reminds me I live not for myself but to make the world a better place. So, as you pass a fallen flower, think of who before you made the world a better place for you…and return the favor. If you do, your flower will bloom longer and brighter—and bring a smile to someone you will never meet.
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