A Geranium Blooms in the Depths of Winter

Today, it is not snowing. And for the first time in a couple of weeks, we do not have snow in the immediate forecast...

Today, the sun shines magnificently, everything in sight is both piercing and blinding to the naked eye, and yet also pristine, and breathtakingly beautiful as well!

Today, I am both surprised and deeply touched by my gnarly geranium, which I received as a Mother's Day present while my son was still in grade school, many years ago. He will be 25 this year, and I've lost count of how many years it has graced my kitchen. It's two misshapen branches are twisting towards the kitchen window, in a perennial quest for more sunlight. And within its cluster of vibrant leaves on one gnarly branch, a bloom is emerging defiantly, despite all the odds. While this plant's beauty may not be immediately obvious to others, it has bloomed in all seasons for more years than I can keep track of, and it has brought me great joy...

Today, my geranium reminds me that winter is a state of mind and that it is impermanent. And it heralds the coming of both the spring and summer seasons, in the months to come...

Today, my blooming geranium asserts that in every dying, there is also a rising...

Today, my geranium invites me to revisit the words by Nityananda that warmed my heart yesterday:

"The real sunrise is in the sky of the Heart..."

And my immortal plant shows me the way to these words of wisdom from the Buddha:

"The way is not in the Sky,
The way is in the Heart."

Today, my humble and simple geranium invites me to look skyward first, but then deeply into my heart, for it is a thing of beauty and everything that matters resides there...

Today, my beautiful geranium reminds me to go into my heart to roam, and get lost in all its treasures. And I think that today, it is Christmas, and my birthday, and anniversary - all wrapped into one - all over again!

Comments

Anonymous said…
Winter is indeed a state of mind, which is why I still wear shorts in January. Glad I could impart my infinite wisdom on you ;-)

-- The Son
February 11, 2010 at 2:12 PM
Olga Rasmussen said…
Ah yes! When I think of winter, I cannot help but think of you in shorts! Always an invincible summer inside of you!

Your Mother
February 11, 2010 at 2:19 PM
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