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FIRST THOUGHTS.

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn.
~ Elizabeth Lawrence

Relaxed, adrift, deeply silent.  My waking hours brought thoughts of autumn and how the earth is preparing for its long winter nap.  At least in many parts of the world.

I wondered if our rose bushes, covered in old sheets, had survived the below freezing temperatures.  The weekend is supposed to be warmer, so I hoped they would be around to enjoy for a few more days.

Thinking about this in that hazy state of mind that morning brings, I knew I was wishing for something that probably didn’t matter in the overall scheme of things.  Inevitably, the roses would die back with the advance of colder temperatures.  I couldn’t prevent it … no matter how much I tried.  Change was imminent.  Yet this natural event was triggering feelings of loss for me.  Deeper feelings that went beyond a rose in autumn.

Roses
by George Eliot
You love the roses – so do I. I wish
The sky would rain down roses, as they rain
From off the shaken bush. Why will it not?
Then all the valley would be pink and white
And soft to tread on. They would fall as light
As feathers, smelling sweet; and it would be
Like sleeping and like waking, all at once!
But saying good-bye, even to plants we have cared for all summer, can be less than joyful.  I wished for more days of “wine and roses,” and wished for more time.  Endings, something we often resist.  Yet, our resistance creates suffering, according to many spiritual leaders.  So I counseled myself to accept the moment that nature had created for reasons beyond my full awareness.  I reminded myself that roses return in the spring, undeterred by winter’s fury.

The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns;
the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious to the rose.

~ Kahlil Gibran

And I also tried to let go my mortal definition of time.  On a spiritual level, we are all timeless, as we move beyond calendars, seasons, and 24-hour cycles with ease.  So I drifted with the dawn for a few more minutes, knowing I would be fully awake soon.  But then I moved into feelings of gratitude — for the beauty of summer, the delicate fragrance of a rose, the fragile bloom that somehow transforms my day.

There is nothing more difficult for a truly creative painter than to
paint a rose,
because before he can do so he has first to
forget all the roses that were ever painted.

~ Henri Matisse

I realized that gratitude brings surrender.  Like a waterfall, it also brings a rush of energy by allowing a mellow kind of joy to permeate our awareness.  It also takes us beyond clinging, allowing us to let go a bit easier.

A single rose can be my garden, a single friend my world.
~ Leo Buscaglia

  •  How does letting go of beauty or the seasons impact you?  When did you last study or really appreciate a rose?  Do you bring them into your home for no special reason, even during the winter months?   Ever meditated on a rose?   Ever painted roses, written poetry about them?

And so, the day is here, welcomed more warmly than I’d imagined. 

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and time in this sunny space for kindred spirits.

Blog posts by DazyDayWriter @ work in SunnyRoomStudio: all rights reserved.

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