“A flower
unplucked is but left to the falling, and nothing is gained by not gathering
roses”. I first read this passage in a Robert Frost poem last summer and have
since spent a lot of time contemplating it. I have recently come to visualize the
rose and the flower as joy, happiness, and bliss, all of which are waiting to
be harvested in lieu of falling away and withering, bereft of me and mine. Thus,
I have concluded that nothing is gained by not gathering them and therefore,
gather them, I shall.
Freedom is a concept that cannot truly be comprehended by those who have always been free, and consequently, slavery is a concept that cannot truly be comprehended by those who have never been enslaved.
"As long as we are persistent in our pursuit of our deepest destiny, we will continue to grow. We cannot choose the day or time when we fully bloom. It happens in its own time."
* Denis Waitley
While
relaxing and leaning against the railing of the deck, I notice several
hummingbirds jockeying for position on the feeder nearby. I think little of it
as it’s usually a daily occurrence, and honestly, I’m more concerned with the ice-cold
drink I just opened after mowing the grass in the hot summer sun. This is all
about to change, though. Two of these tiny behemoths decide to do battle just
above my head. I duck. Recovering quickly, I reach for my carbonated beverage and
suddenly find myself staring into the tiny eyes and needle-sharp beak of one of
the hummers hovering just twelve inches from my face. It looks at me with curiosity
or indifference perhaps, but then two others decide to attack him and I realize
I’m in the middle of something I shouldn’t be in the middle of. Another
hummingbird and then another and another joins the fray and still I’m not
worried… they’re only hummingbirds, right? Think again. After ten or so near misses, I am now watching the conflict from the safety of the kitchen
window.