Operation Splurging

The news has just heralded the highest power rate hike which dampened, i must admit, my meager efforts to create a festive atmosphere at home. We decided to light up the tree on the eve itself. Yep, in twenty days. Simple is the operative word.

Toning down the festivities, not just because of the looming bills, is also extending still our oneness with the Mega Typhoon's victims. This just feels right.

If there's any splurging happening -- i leave it to mother nature to take the lead. Here's a photo of a shrub that shows off in wild abandon its eye-catching purplish offshoots. 

Thank you for such generosity!

Still Life with Flowers

Why does time run away from us so fast? It zips past our days...our lives... and leave us breathless (literally) at the end of our days. We can't stop the flowers, the joys of our existence, from wilting, even if we mix in glycerin, vinegar, aspirin, sugar or some perk-me-up temporary pleasure. Surely it will delay the sadness... the drooping... but the inevitable happens. Kids are no longer kids. Our body (every detail of it), is not the same body we had at the start of the year. Even the dynamics in our relationships we find, have altered to some degree. 

Don't you sometimes feel like arresting this marching off of time? In just about four weeks we will be writing a different four digit number -- to mark our next year. 

We can either have regrets or look back with fondness on the days past. They are all behind us save memories, like snapshots we have chosen to keep or delete. We can immortalize those good ones we have gathered from the garden we have tended, or neglected, as still life -- our way of arranging them as we wish or preserving as long as we can, the lovely blooms that captured us as much as we seized them.

Thanksgiving

Today is an opportunity to look back over this year's days, weeks, and months. What are the highlights -- both the good and the bad not so good? If there was a scorecard, how would i fare? But life, thankfully, is not about points and scores. It is about doing the best we can, acknowledging unlimited grace, and growing in gratitude for all that we have.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

God of all blessings, the
source of all life,
giver of all grace.

We thank you for the gift of life:
for the breath
that sustains life,
for the food of this earth
that nurtures life,
for the love of family and friends
without which there would be no life.

We thank you for the mystery of creation:
for the beauty
that the eye can see,
for the joy
that the ear may hear,
for the unknown
that we cannot behold filling the universe with wonder,
for the expanse of space
that draws us beyond the definitions of our selves.

We thank you for setting us in communities:
for families
who nurture our becoming,
for friends
who love us by choice,
for companions at work,
who share our burdens and daily tasks,
for strangers
who welcome us into their midst,
for people from other lands
who call us to grow in understanding,
for children
who lighten our moments with delight,
for the unborn,
who offer us hope for the future.

We thank you for this day:
for life
and one more day to love,
for opportunity
and one more day to work for justice and peace,
for neighbors
and one more person to love
and by whom be loved,
for your grace
and one more experience of your presence,
for your promise:
to be with us,
to be our God,
and to give salvation.

For these, and all blessings,
we give you thanks, eternal, loving God,
through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

- Vienna Cobb Anderson

We'll Get There

Everything has a its own time. Mending takes time. Healing takes time. Some things just need to be left alone so that they become what they are supposed to become, by design. Just as when fruits are sweetest when they are left to ripen on their own.

I know of a late bloomer. But that is a misnomer. We mature blossom at just the right time. We evolve, transform, change into the highest version (hopefully) of ourselves when ripe.

Appreciate the process. 

God opens millions of flowers, without forcing the buds. It reminds us not to force anything, for things happen in the right time. 

- Unknown

Flowers Lift Our Spirits

"My momma told me there'll be days like this" goes one rocker's ditty. I get that sinking feeling every now and then and i have learned that such days are just part of life. We cannot anesthetize and pretend they are not there. There is no escaping them. 

We can learn from the artists whose very own spells of gloom served as grist for their greatest works. I take inspiration from the likes of Georgia O'Keeffe who is said to have battled lifelong melancholia. She transmuted the doldrums into beautifully arousing artwork, many of which are flowers as subject. 

Cheer someone up (even your self) today with a bouquet. Or paint yourself some flowers.

Flowers in the Water

Photo by Jan Messersmith

The water took everything away...your possessions, your work, your street, your town, your city, your friends, your family...your life. It is a sad, sad time. There are really no words enough to describe it. Its purpose or redeeming value is hard to find. I pray that you manage to hold on to hope.

Some years ago i have been there to Tacloban and made my way down south of your city, grateful to have stored in my memory of your city images of warmth, love, simplicity, and charm. I will hold on to that for you. 

And if i have the chance to be back there -- i will pay my respects... with flowers in the water.

Flowers Among the Rubble

I do not want to add to the noise that's out there -- about how slow or how inefficient is our government's response to the victims of the unimaginably horrific typhoon Yolanda. I must be careful to guard my heart and keep it focused on what is essential -- to lift a finger in whatever way to help, to cast prayers and not aspersions on anyone.

Viewed tv footage of a man who lost his home and loved ones cooking and sharing his meal with his neighbors.

For all that's been said and done, even in the direst of circumstances, goodness will triumph from it all. 

Flowers in The Ruins

These are some shots i took when we had a very quick touristy stop straight from the airport at the oft visited The Ruins in Talisay, Bacolod. I thought that the brave water lily blossoms made this a poignant scene. Where life, love and passion once stood, only a skeleton of what once was remains.

Just yesterday huge tremors shook the south and left centuries old churches in ruins... beautiful frescoes and murals now only a memory.

Yet the spirit, the indomitable spirit will blossom like stubborn flowers in the ruins.

Your Timely Detox

In the photos are the flowers of the Laurel Clock Vine. In the morning they open up to the world and when evening comes they tuck in their petals and bid everyone goodnight, following nature's rhythm and cycles. Such wisdom from the Creator of the whole universe.

There are set rhythms we should avoid tampering with...or turning upside down such as work and rest, being awake and sleeping, night and day.

Listen to your body. Rest if you must. Have some rang jeud tea.

In Malaysia, juice from crushed leaves of T. laurifolia are taken for menorrhagia, placed into the ear for deafness, and applied for poulticing cuts and boils (Burkill, 1966). In Thailand, leaves are used as an antipyretic, as well as an antidote for detoxifying poisons (Kanchanapoom et al., 2002). Several Thai herbal companies have started producing and exporting rang jeud tea (Chan & Lim, 2006). The tea has been claimed to be able to detoxify the harmful effects of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. (Wikipedia)

I used to think Ruffa was a weird name. Pronouncing it seemed like i was disappointed in something or someone was toxic to be around. Would you name your newborn daughter Thunbergia laurifolia? Laurie for short.

Sorry for the disjunction. A detox nap is in order.

Patchwork

 

I found this quilt displayed in a hall in one of the girls' schools in the city. It is big, no one can miss it. Retazos or left over discards swatches of various prints stitched together ---  a hodge-podge of colors and designs which seemingly do not fit at first. When sewn to each other, you begin to see there is nothing random about the pieces.

Like friendship. Without getting to the heart, we feel disjointed and find no bond. But when lives are shared, even the most unseemly types become friends. Each piece has a story: sad, happy, funny... and those tales by which we unravel: animosity, tragedy, hurt... yet mending is always a choice. Can't throw away those bits and pieces of our days which have made the fabric of our lives richer.

Like family.

Like our selves.

Like a garden.

Simply Divine

There is just something about being outdoors early morning right after the rain. The torrid sun is nowhere to assault you, the rest of humanity is just about to get up, and here you are -- the world, this little space in time, is all yours.

Before a barrage of the day's troubles begin, relish the sweet kisses of pink buds and little star-shaped pods that were whispered your way by the Divine before they find their final resting places. The nurturing of one's well-being in this manner is simply divine. 

Balanoy

On a recent trip south of Metro Manila we had a pit stop at a gas station: to split a big bowl of lomi and have a bladder break. I want to extol the yummy dish but this is not a food blog. 

Just a couple of steps to the station's toilet was some firewood and a bunch of some plant resting in a pail of water. There must be something to this unfamiliar (to me) plant. Why was it being kept in water (though obviously it was already more dried out than fresh)? Must be an herb that went into the dish. A trade secret, i thought.

Until i passed their shelf of assorted snacks...

Look closer and you'll notice that sprigs of the same plant sit atop the goodies. That's when i asked the woman tending the store for the name of the plant. Turns out that this plant known to locals as balanoy is being used as some kind of lucky charm. I thought, too, that it was there to ward off undesirable cockroaches, or even ants and moths that could spoil the goods.

There must be something more to the balanoy than mere superstition. Known also as the solasi, this plant is also the Sweet Basil according to what i found on the web. If so, balanoy then is your very useful herb in the kitchen.

Cosmotology

This flower called the Cosmos has broad sunny rays that shoot  out from a disk of minute florets. Not your high-end ornamental and may be dismissed as all too common. It shoots straight up as if to announce that the day is filled with so much potential. Stay with it a little longer and it will show you its generosity. You will find that this plant keeps on flowering for months. 

With this, your garden will be a butterfly magnet -- the cosmos universe obviously in agreement.

Hairy Flowers

I don't know what these flowers are. My first time to see such unique blooms that look like fruit still waiting to be harvested. In the shade they look like light bulbs of a chandelier. 

Here's another hirsute beauty:

This one is the Red Hot Cat-tail which also the Chenille (French for caterpillar) plant. Are you not tempted to run your fingers through these avant-garde flowers? 

Moss on the Road to Work

What makes the walk from my house to the corner jeepney stop so calming is the row of moss-covered base of walls which hold court in the shade. This velvety smooth yellow-green carpet is a boon to still very sleepy eyes.

Nature has a way of dressing up rough surfaces, of spreading a mantle, of concealing the otherwise ugly man-made structures. They have a sort of calming presence. 

Carnation on My Table

Don't you just love it when you get a table at a restaurant that has a nice touch such as this? One pink carnation is all it takes to set the mood for a nice conversation over lunch. It's that little extra that does it. 

When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower.                                  - Georgia O'Keeffe

Of course they had to take it away to make space for the dishes we ordered. But while it sat there,  it was ours, even for a brief moment.

Dream Garden

After a restful night i awaken early to the songs of birds who announce the newness of the day. I get up, walk outside slowly, mindfully, prayerfully. A heartsong bursts forth as my eyes notice new fruit. I look forward to investing in today.

 

How can one walk past a rainbow of zinnias and not feel blessed? It tells me that it is all right in my world no matter the chaos in the world at large.

Sanctuary, this truly is. Everything contained. Everything thriving. Everything at peace. And now, let me have my cup of tea.

Gift of Healing

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature -- the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.” 
― Rachel Carson 

Try as we might to capture a thing of beauty forever, at best we can make only representations of what floors us in nature. We can immortalize it in paintings and photographs or even leave it etched in our memory. However nature is absorbed --- in itself or in our replications --- healing is given to our spirit.

Take a stroll in the park, go somewhere rustic, tend your garden. Or start painting. Soak it all in and receive the gifts.

Stained Glass Flowers

I assume everyone this part of the world is just so happy the sun is out. Not quite, but we feel the warmth already --- after a week of strong downpour from the skies. Up to this moment there are still plenty of communities in dire straights: houses washed away, muddy indoors, all clothes wet, and just so much cleaning up to do --- not to mention the worst of it. 

We all need sunshine in our lives.

Compassion is displayed in the countless anonymous ones who gave of themselves: their time, their resources, their food, their hearts...to help alleviate somehow the conditions many have found themselves in after the typhoon's whipping.

On both the receiving and giving end we find

“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.”

- Elizabeth Kübler-Ross

Barettes

I and my new-found friends decided to visit a bazaar somewhere in the south. They were looking around for some pasalubong, customary gifts one brings home to friends and family from one's travels. I was not so inclined to buy stuff with the name of the visited place splashed across trinkets, shirts, and whatever touristy item one comes across. I was more interested in well-crafted pieces that can actually be put to use.  

So here's one of those things i found: hair clips. I think they're really neat.

With Flowers in Her Hair

by

Mr Crane

She walks in and says hello,

Reminds me fast of long ago.

She came in with no announcing

As she used to do,

With flowers in her hair.

That little girl I used to do

How she did grow.

The girl with whom I would play

Is the woman who stands here today,

With flowers in her hair.

Petunias and lillies down those golden locks

Like sunbeams come down to earth.

With skin so smooth, and eyes so blue,

The girl with flowers in her hair.

Through the grass, we'd run along

She'd pick up daisies, and sing her song.

Her songs whose words I'll never forget

In a voice truly heavenly sent,

And she'd put the flowers in her hair.

Pretty in Pink

It is only recently that i have come to appreciate the color pink. I used to go for dark colors to express my rebel attitude. I guess time truly has a way of mellowing out those rough preferences. Sweet, soft, feminine pink calms me now.

In one pocket garden i was drawn to crouch down on my knees to get a glimpse of the beautiful pink flower buds that were partially hidden by its equally beautiful leaves -- eye-catching by themselves. They can stand alone if you ask me. But those buds make the plant all the more special. That to me is grace.

Splendor --- in the Grass

This here is the first of a series of posts coming up that is about grass. I doubt that i will provide you their real names. I can only come up with my own names for them as they impress upon me.

So there i was, heading out the door from the discussions going on between officers of a company -- i needed a breath of fresh air. I looked around hoping to catch sights of beautiful flowers for this blog. Apparently the resort was barren save for a smattering of  potted plants here and there. I took a walk around, soaking in the peace and quiet, when i started noticing the grass under my feet. 

See those dainty white flowers? I needed to stoop to appreciate these brilliant petals poised amid the wild growth.  

Details, Details

Excuse my big fat hand. I just want you to enjoy as much as i did looking at the pretty little flowers. As if their leaves were not a curiosity enough. I name this my Trinity Plant in lieu of its proper name which i do not know.

When we chance upon things of nature we must take the time to notice the details. Every facet should not escape us as there are components that make up the whole. Discovery and opportunity lie in those small parts that fascinate us. If we pay close attention we find aspects to admire and appreciate.

Virtue

Exquisite, simply exquisite. These flowers are little white tubes that blossom at the tip. They seem to tease you with their coyness. "I am blooming, yet not quite. Wait some more." Their fullness suspended.  I think that they try to teach us patience. You can't have it all at once. You need to wait. If you go off, you won't get to see them at full bloom. Good things come to those who wait.

“A waiting person is a patient person. The word patience means the willingness to stay where we are and live the situation out to the full in the belief that something hidden there will manifest itself to us.”       ― Henri J.M. Nouwen

Thoughts on Wrought Iron and Flowers

Here's a wrought iron candle holder adorned with crepe paper flowers, similar to the ones I sometimes find in weddings and other occasions.  

To me, a good combination of cold strength and tenderness. Each one complementing the other.

There are elements that we never thought could go together. Oftentimes we never even dream of putting them side by side yet we are pleasantly surprised when they click. As with relationships. It just takes a small amount of openness to see the wonderful chemistry we have with others.

Giant Cup of Gladness

I love the metaphor of cups. It either has contents or not... full or empty. I  remember giving someone an empty clay cup as a gift. It was not really empty as i filled it with my best wishes for the receiver.

The Bible has these pleasant verses:

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 

- Psalm 23:5

Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.  

- Psalm 16:5

Apart from the positive, it also talks about the cup of wrath, a cup that holds scorn and derision.

Such is life. In our cup we taste both joy and sorrow.

Fancy the huge pot of flowers. It is a giant earthenware cup whose flowers runneth over. Copious, abundant, lavish. A giant cup of gladness.

To you who have journeyed through rough roads and tasted the bitter of life i wish you a bountiful harvest of deep and immeasurable joy, a gladness that will light your days as you continue to take a day at a time. I wish you a cup of gladness, a giant one.

Picket Fence Flowers

                   

Last weekend as we were on the way to the place where we would spend some time to recharge, we chanced upon a charming diner cum souvenir shop. Charming because it was homey and had picket fences that stood gallantly beside verbena plants that showed off flowers in a host of colors: lavender, pink, white, and red. They stood there as if to invite us in. We did and had coffee and dessert.

In Its Time

Here are shots of my sister in-law’s flowering vines which perch at the entrance of their house. Little pink sparklers known as the Chinese Honeysuckle adorn the lush green leaves   which form a beautiful arbor.

Letting you in on my little frustration --- having a lush vine that produces many flowers just outside our front door. My first attempt to grow such plants produced only sickly leaves. They crawled and climbed all right but did not produce the white bridal veil that I expected. I had the three vines cut but now they are growing fast again. Should I keep my hopes up? 

“You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming.” ― Pablo Neruda

Yes.

In Our Small Garden

Lining the walls of our small garden are plants called "mother in-law's tongue." The name makes me chuckle to myself. I wonder if the person who coined this had a nagger for a mother in-law. 

Hardy and tenacious, the plant also known as the Sansevieria, flourishes without much tending. Where they are, the weeds don't go. The Sansevieria grows well both indoors and outdoors.

And just when you think they are all leaves, they give out a tall tower of white flowers. Conspicuous, tall, proud. Beautiful.

Mindfulness in a Bowl

As you may have noticed, another snapshot of a bowl of flowers.

I think that such bowls will always capture my attention. Pretty things floating, resting on water. Preserved for some time, to be replaced by new ones in new combinations. If i were working in some resort i would love to be in charge of replenishing these. I would then have the choice which among the flowers available around me will go into the receptacles. 

There could be an assortment or with restraint, one or two, which is quite perfect.

To assemble flowers requires mindfulness. What goes out from the hands is in harmony with the head and the heart.

“Mindfulness is like that—it is the miracle which can call back in a flash our dispersed mind and restore it to wholeness so that we can live each minute of life.” _ Thich Nhat Hanh

Living in the Moment

A fringed white flower floated down to our side of the wall from the neighbor's tree as i was setting down a few pots of herbs i had just purchased. I thought to myself that occurrences like this, when flowers get detached from its mother plant and ride on the wind, and then alight where you are -- that is a spiritual thing.

I amuse myself by picking it up and give it a few shakes as if to release the blessings. 

We need not look far to feed our souls. Open your eyes and appreciate what is in your own backyard.

Still Shining

Science has it that the stars we see shining above us may be stars that have long been dead. They continue to light up our otherwise dreary skies. Long gone yet their light remains. 

I chanced upon a handful of little yellow flowers strewn on the sand. They have fallen from their stems, now devoid of life. Yet they still captivate me. Little yellow stars still shining.

May we be the same to those who matter most --- our family.

Life is a Feast

"Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast" -- that's Shakespeare. No wonder spas and other places to rest greet us with bowls of flowers floating on water. They are happy that we have come and are eager to usher us into tranquility.

Going to spas is a treat to one's self. Nurturing our own bodies and treating it special is an affirmation of life, an affirmation that we are valuable. Oftentimes, the validation from others is wanting.  But if you are like me -- i can get that affirmation from feasting my eyes on a bowl of colorful flowers or listening to the happy notes from random birds that happen always on my window sill.