One hardly notices them:
wild flowers, country flowers
quiet lost in the ordinariness
of all-around shrubs
and half-trampled grass…
flowers glanced at casually
and dismissed from attention.
One has to make an effort of sorts.
Stop for a while. Bend down a little perhaps.
Go down on one’s knees in curious attention.
Get closer to where they are ensconced
in all their subdued grandeur and subtle splendour
The ordinary does not seem ordinary any more.
And one can sit down there for a season
in quiet meditative serenity and celebration…..
That happens with people too.
And it is important that we take time off and pause
so that we might be graced by beauty and wonder
that is so often wrapped up in the ordinary
that is sometimes the way in which
the truly beautiful comes across.
They pass me by on the corridors,
I meet them in the classrooms,
they drift into my office,
I walk by them in other places.
Sometimes they are boldly present.
Often they are hesitantly hovering
on the fringes of my own comfort zone.
A recognition, a smile,
shared coffee or snacks, a brief interlude,
and I see the flowers for what they really are in bloom.
Every encounter is a blessing.
Sometimes obvious, sometimes disguised.
And I have to take those breaks and open myself
to the enrichment that comes to me
from the country flowers that I am surrounded by…
Thank you for the beautiful
that you are in my life.
Thanks for the beautiful
that you add to my life….
My road more or less travelled
is more colourful and bright and enjoyable
because we see each other
and you walk some of the way with me…