Edelweiss Send Off For Sec Jess

Edelweiss, Edelweiss

Every morning you greet me

Small and white, clean and bright

You look happy to meet me

Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow

Bloom and grow forever

Edelweiss, Edelweiss

Bless my homeland forever.

Singing this song makes emotions flow through me. My mother sang this often to me when i was just starting my schooling. The Sound of Music will always be part of my wonder years. 

Edelweiss (German for noble and white, pronounced 'edelvice') flowers withstand extreme altitudes providing gentleness in harsh settings.

The song's popular tune came to be used as a benediction beginning in the 70's.

"May the Lord, mighty God,

Bless and keep you forever.

Grant you peace, perfect peace,

Courage in every endeavor.

Lift your eyes and see His face,

And His grace forever.

May the Lord, mighty God,

Bless and keep you forever."

Tender, so tender.  Listen.

Budding, Blossoming

Peony bud

Dahlia bud

How refreshing it is to come upon flowers that are yet to open or bloom. There is just something so powerful, energetic and exciting about them. Especially if you happen to be the person who planted them. I remember my mother being so thrilled seeing her orchids beginning to show -- first as little buds, then the suspense of what is to be --- drum roll --- the wonderfully vibrant petals! Such show offs for us to enjoy.

We are that way with our own children. We wait in expectation for their God-given gifts and talents.

Rafflesia

Rafflesia arnoldii
http://www.parasiticplants.siu.edu/Rafflesiaceae/Raff.arn.page.html

How can you stink and yet be a wonder to behold? One of my friends had the surprise of her life when  she and her husband were greeted by this giant in one of their treks in the mountains of the Compostela Valley. Though it smelled like rotting meat she would not pass up the chance to have her photo taken with her face beside its unbelievably huge petals.

This flower is a good reminder that despite each other's shortcomings and imperfections, we all have something marvelous about us. We just need to look deeper, if not closer.

Verbena

photo by Kim Day

photo from orchidflowers.wordpress.com

I so miss my mother's green thumb. Rather i miss her being around (15 years gone this day). She has long passed on to the best garden imaginable perhaps. When i see flowers like the verbena, memory of her is evoked. She used to have these in pots and would teach us to pinch off shoots so that it may grow more lush. 

These clusters are associated with the divine. In ancient Egypt it was known as the "tears of Isis." In early Christian folk legend the verbena was said to be used to stem the flow of Jesus' wounds such that it came to be known as the "holy herb."

A Rose is a Rose is a Rose

Wild Rose Field
by Lena

Rare is the woman who does not love roses. Why, even my own son had only the rose plant in mind when he considered working our little garden. The rose has always stood for beauty and life, love and joy. So divine in essence. 

Yet for all its beauty, the rose is encircled by thorns. Just like life, though strewn with challenges, even pain, there is also tenderness, sweetness, and some fragrance. 

Step Up or Step Out

With a burst of inspiration, i found myself jotting down a list of reminders to myself. As if feverish, i return to my notes with additional stuff i'd like to commit to memory --- first. I am such a procrastinator that without such lists, i would end up not having a single thing done. 

Occupying a page and a half of my coffee shop planner are the following;

"CHANGE. Discipline. Consistency. Commitment. 

Meditation : wake up latest 5 am; do the examen before sleeping
Stewardship of time: Avoid Facebook; bring awareness and creativity everywhere i go; be constantly busy around the house
Stewardship of money: focus on saving. You don't need more clothes and more books (there's still a lot left unread).
Self care: pay attention to what you eat; exercise; avoid toxic thoughts
Learn something new: a craft, a language, or painting"

Half the year is over and i do not want to go over these days come January having regrets or looking back at wasted days when i did not pay attention or have done nothing to grow. Venus Williams, the tennis celebrity said "I know when it is time to step up, not to revert back to bad habits but to keep ahead with the good ones." 

It is time. It may be overdue but here i go. Stepping up.

 

Prison Break

"Faith goes out through the window

when beauty comes in through the door."

So said George Edward Moore, an English philospher "well known for his advocacy of common sense concepts, his contributions to ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics, and his exceptional personality and moral character."

The photos were taken a few days ago at the Bureau of  Corrections in southern Muntinlupa.  I love the lattice work on the windows. They exude both a masculine and feminine feel. The portal to the building on the other hand is like that of a church: huge, solid, of old, and welcoming.  As you step into the building the air of authority is felt. Many a convicted felon has passed through this door to his place of confinement, tucked away at some cell, his personal freedoms curtailed.

The inner sanctum which i have not had the opportunity of seeing leaves  me wondering about our own brand of imprisonment. 

We may not be physically in such a facility paying for some misdeed or crime, but with our own negative and growth stunting mindsets and behaviors we can just as well be locked in. Addiction, envy, jealousy, hatred, cynicism, guilt, fear, insecurity, unforgiving. The list is long. 

Only when we allow faith to flourish  and open ourselves up to new ways of perceiving shall we, with courage, let our shackled selves go.

New Possibilities, New Experiences, New Connections

Eskimo Spy's photo on flickr

Back after the deluge that was. Our social networking sites have likewise been flooded with depressing news. Time to clean up. And get a whiff of the wonderful in the world.

Wow! When was the last time you blurted out that word in awe? Our days can become quite monotonous and bland, bereft of joie de vivre. Many of us, frankly, are stuck in this kind of drudgery. Which should not be...if it were up to us. We need mind-expanding, awareness-heightening, endorphin-producing moments (without the use of illegal mood-altering substances, of course), moments that make our eyes sparkle because inside is joy.

Here are some that might just do the trick:

1. Take long walks. Or run.

2. Dance.

3. Get your hands in the soil and plant something.

4. Play.

5. Find three new things you are grateful for.

6. Perform a random act of kindness. 

You've heard this one a thousand times. It does work.

7. Try something new.

8. Meditate.

9. Go into a flower shop.

10. Smell the flowers.

Special Spaces

"A time of quietude brings things into proportion and gives us strength. We all need to take time from the busyness of living, even if it be ten minutes to watch the sun go down or the city lights blossom against a canyoned sky."

I so love this corner of our hotel room. Much thought has been processed here. Many tensions and worries have flown out the window. And here a couple of sunsets have rested the body, mind and weary spirit. This chair and ottoman became my old friends as they let me nestle in, rest the side of my torso on its arms and cushion my fears in its cusp. It has heard me whisper my longings and absorbed my every unedited thought.

And in this spot, this gem of a space we got reacquainted with Ms. Serenity.

Keep Calm and Stay Dry

This unpredictable weather gets exciting by the minute. With sudden downpours of rain alternating with snatches of sunshine i feel like i am in some game of hide-and-seek with the elements. Because of work we are grateful to have been billeted in one of the new hotels in the south for an overnight stay two consecutive weeks now. Being in the eighth floor with large windows gives us a dramatic view of the sky and the way it changes: heavy dark clouds birthing torrents of rain, wind-swept clouds giving way to a bright sky face, and then if you are extra lucky, or have been good ;) you get a yellow apparition. 

Such was our (husband and i) cave when we found ourselves once again facing a storm in our lives. It was good to just soak it all in and allowing things to be the way they were whilst our hearts were cooking up a tempest upward in prayer. 

I have emerged from those special moments knowing that everything will be all right, as always. This too shall pass. Everything does.