REFLECTIONS;

NATURE -IN LOVE -WITH LIFE-WITH CHILD

NATURE’S CHILD

Nature, in its awesome splendor, inspirationally reflects the power of love and children.

The silent, stillness in all seeds represents love in its purest potential and power. Within its walls lies the greatest of all possibilities…life…. quiet, motionless yet full of potency. Some robust seeds, like children, remain dormant because the soil is too acidic, the water sparse, the sunlight too dim, the weather too damaging. Bursting the shell are those in fertile environments. The conditions for generative capacity are sometimes calm, peaceful and at other times, uncontrolled and disorderly. The exceptional seed has the strength, courage and support to reach maximum heights. Future fate is rarely predictable. Yet, the earth is abundant and nature abounds only with the marginal few who survive. Whatever force pervades this universe exemplifies the most powerful form of love and adorns each seed with the greatest potential to be self-actualized, self-realized. Who are we to predict or provoke how actualization should manifest, as the full picture is unknown to our miniscule perceptions? As with its children, love cajoles nature into this venture or that path patiently awaiting its masterpiece to unfold in the solitude of each seed.

After erupting a fissure throughout the outer coating, the tiny embryonic seed dispatches a protrusion. The root system executes one major shoot that burrows into the soil very deeply to anchor itself for the flourishing years ahead. Without the depth of the major root, plants would topple. As it penetrates the soil, it begins to sprout tiny hairs that gather nourishment from the atmosphere. The human system is much like the plant kingdom, amalgamating source and origin in childhood in order to soar with the eagles as adults. Roots unfold from the body, mind, spirit, emotions, family, community, nation…Yet, in this ever changing, mobile society, how many children acquire the grounding to later fly into life’s mystery and majesty unabated and self-assured? It is nature, exuding its unconditional love, which gives the plant and the child the opportunity to root and later to thrive.

One of nature’s marvels, the vine, has the magical quality of overcoming anything in its wake. The vine slithers along house, ground or wall one tiny step at a time each year. One step, rooted, brings forth leaves, stops for a while, sleeps and then creeps ever so slowly grasping the closest solid object. With no particular direction, meandering here and there, obstacles are merely challenges to overcome. Ask any highwayman clearing roadsides. Query any neighbor weeding the garden. Neither concrete nor manmade barrier can withstand the power of its driven nature to move and grow. Nature, like love and the vine, is slow and hushed, ever evolving, ever growing, and creeping upon us without the slightest hesitation, unsuspecting, unaware, and unencumbered. We continuously seek the opposite, thinking noise, glitter, lightening and thunder is its calling card. It is so gradual and subtle in movement, hardly recognizable while in the forefront; yet to most, it is only noticeable after it is gone. Like the vine, real love is subtle, overcomes all obstacles and pervades all of life.

Trees symbolize human diversity. Like most of nature’s masterpieces, trees come in assorted varieties, shapes, sizes and strengths. The willow bends with the wind back and forth, pliable, malleable, yet with its own type of strength. Some individuals consider this flexibility and changeability characteristics of folly and weakness. Only unyielding, firmly standing tall like the oak tree in the grip of ferocious weathering is valued by most. Yet, nature honors both qualities equally. The remaining species of trees contribute, wither and decompose replenishing the ground with deep, rich soil, feed the hungry or avail deteriorating cavities as homes for critters and small animals. Some protect the ground from erosion. Children, like trees, are vibrant because of diversity …lest we forget it would be monotonous, dull and boring if it was all identically the same…Yet, children are expected to comply with standards plundering and pillaging, stripping them of individuality and uniqueness. Nature’s child materializes in multiplicity, complexity, and intricacy yet simplicity of form and function.

The natural forces abound in fragrances, colors and tastes. Stand in a forest of cedars, in the bushes of honeysuckle, on the salt saturated ocean air or in a gathering of lilacs and BREATHE. The nostrils flare and expand, excite and stir at the tantalizing scents. How can a child experience the wonders of life if the modeling caretaker is neglectful of fully breathing, much less smelling aromas? The panting breath signifies the hurried lifestyle and inability to sensitize inhalation to natural odors. We are also inattentive to the complexion of the surroundings. While seeing, we neglect to look at the world. The brilliant colors of purple in the sterling rose, the red of the poinsettia, the yellow of the mums, the pink of the azaleas, green of the meadow, auburn sunset, blackness of the evening and the white magnolia or of the lily floating serenely on a lake’s edge, elude our awareness. The same circumstances define taste. The explosion of a ripe orange, the rush of wasabi or cayenne, the crispness of fresh lettuce, the sweetness of brown rice, the bitter of fresh mustard or the mushiness of kiwi are present in the experience of examining, tasting and savoring food. The aesthetic senses have declined in the midst of moving faster, accumulating more and enjoying it less. Love, like nature and children, absorbs the delicacies of each subtle sensation.

If the landscape were continuously bombarded with hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, lightening and thunder in the same region, or if the sun shone unending and unceasingly, there would be no growth or stasis. Drama is short lived. Instead, there are intermittent times of chaos, disaster, and intense force to clean up the old dead residue of growth and decay returning anew to settle and multiply. Virtually unnoticed, the flower stretches towards the sun, extending, expanding and lengthening. Only in its last moments of life does it draw attention, erupting in brilliance and colorful splendor, to wither shortly thereafter. Clothes become clean only with agitation in the tub but without the gentle flow of water and soap lifting the dirt, clothes would be ripped to shreds. So, natural law gives respite from its passion with light crisp sunny days of spring or fall with gentle breezes, shade and drizzle. It murmurs softly of its existence.

Whispering in the ear, it beacons “here I am, look at me’. The leaves fall gently to the ground with a rustle, disintegrating and blanketing the earth with soil. The flowers give up their seeds to the breeze that re-pollinates the landscape. With a whisper, everlasting love gently knocks at the door summoning our response. In this rapid, fast paced world, most advances of love go unnoticed because the quiet voices unheard and unnoticed are those of children, the meek, the elderly, the vulnerable and nature. In this accelerated society, not only do they go unnoticed but are trampled, destroyed and subjugated to the will of others. But just as nature prevails, so too do those who carry loves whisper softly across the earth, the sky, the seasons, countries, continents and cultures. For love, like nature, always prevails in the end, in the big picture. Everything else is merely an illusion.

The seasons of spring, summer winter and fall reflect the seasons of individual life. In spring, there is new life bursting forth, either original or renewed, exuding with energy, colors and lightness. The summer, with its heat, slows the energy to a pace more suited to respite, relaxation and repose. Fall begins the steady decline of energy to prepare for winters sleep, yet there is a burst of last minute glory in the splendid colors of autumn leaves and blossoms.  Winter brings the cold, frigid air that slows to a halt all movement to recapitulate, regroup and gather new energy like the animals in hibernation. Some things die, others go into deep slumber, to be renewed again in the warmth of spring. These are the times of our lives…in spring we are born full of joy, splendor, excitement, industriousness; in the summer, we flourish, develop, stretch, build and multiply; in the autumn, we acquire maturity, wisdom, mellowness, settled ness; and in the winter we decline, wind down and eventually die voiding the position for the next footprint in the sand; lovingly yielding to the next generation.

Hear the voice of nature “ah” in delight at its own splendor, majesty and totality? Attempting to observe a tree in its entirety by standing at the roots and looking up to the top, the view is askew. Taking steps backward, encircling the base and looking to all sides gives a glimpse of the whole but not all in an instant. The human perception is flawed with segmented thinking and mindset. The view from the top, around and below must be accomplished in stages, ever so slowly….patience…silence….stillness….it reveals itself in love….shhhhhh…listen…it beacons you…hear its call….it stands in front of you, beside you, around you awaiting your attention but you are too busy to notice….stop….hear its name coming from the oddest places…tress, flowers, vines, seeds, children do not ‘fall in love’…they ARE love….it is not something to grasp and hold, change or manipulate…it is not an emotion….love is inside of you…it is your essence…it IS you…like nature, it is slow, silent, still, graceful, elegant…receive its power and ……….LOVE…….

From Daria M. Brezinski with love