And Just Like That – It Bloomed

Isn’t it incredible that in the middle of winter these delicate flowers have opened up and shown us their beauty?

I would not have guessed that the helleborus orientalis, Lenten rose would offer me so much food for thought, and yet, here I am – recognizing myself in this.

Flowers, birds, and all that awakens into our natural world does not look for validation, ask for attention, or crave acknowledgment for its existence.

It is.

That is it!

It exists because that’s what it was created to do, connected to instinct and a deep inner knowing. It has its purpose and modus operandi encoded in its DNA. A Lenten rose behaves like a Lenten rose, a dog behaves like a dog, a tree behaves like a tree. It is not trying to be anything other than what it is.

This flower is reminding me to be human – to be a human being being human. I don’t need others' approval, validation, or attention. Do I want it? Yes, of course that would be great, yet it doesn’t define who I am or make me any more or less human.

What would it be like to just stop for a moment and look around at nature – noticing and paying attention to how it acts, behaves, and exists?

What would you see, hear, smell, taste, and touch?

What is it communicating to you about life, about yourself, about all that we cannot understand?

Would it be okay, if for the moment we sit, connect to ourselves, and remember we are human? Like the rest of the natural world, we have our purpose and modus operandi encoded in our DNA.

When we connect to who we are as a living breathing human being we instinctively and intuitively know what to do – unfortunately there have been so many stories, ideas, thoughts, and barriers to understanding ourselves as mind, body, heart, and soul that we find ourselves striving to be something other than human – super human.

What would it be like to embrace and love your humanity – all of it – the good, the bad, and the ugly? Nature does not judge or hate or abandon us. It loves and continues to provide for us every single day.

What would it be like to move from that place – being with nature and cohabiting in relationship, acknowledging that we are different and intimately connected?

What would that say about us as humans?