The view from my office window looks downhill over a small lawn filled with white clover blooms. The stretch of hydrangeas covered in mounds of blue globes, and the tea olive shrub with its tiny orange flowers make for a shrubby border against the woodland edge. 

A Brown Thrasher hops and scurries across the ground then pauses, looking up at the window where two cats lounge on the window seat, watching the bird make his way to the birdbath.  Deciding that he was safely on the other side of the glass, the rusty brown bird dips its beak into the water and tilts its head back as if it just lets the water pour down its throat.  After a few dips, it crosses the yard as quickly as it came and begins scratching the ground beneath the hydrangeas.  

Just outside the window, the crape myrtle tree is a popular sitting spot for birds to dry and fluff their feathers after taking their turn in the birdbath.   The branches droop under the heavy burden of the white blooms, and gently sway with the breeze, making a lacy shadow which dances upon the ground.

I like to work on my writing while out on the deck where I can take in the sights and sounds of the backyard.  In a flowerpot at the top of the steps, I have planted Periwinkle of Madagascar. Because I love reading and researching, I looked up the Latin name, Catharanthus roseus.  Catharanthus translates to pure flower, and roseus means rose or pink.  This plant comes in a variety of lovely pink shades, but I am crazy for the peach shade! 

Some years ago when I was choosing paint colors for my home, I learned about color theory.  I read that Interior Designers sometimes use the color peach in conversation areas such as living rooms to encourage friendly communication and also in yoga or study areas to inspire the spiritual enlightenment.  So this pretty plant really is perfect for my little outdoor meditating and writing spot! I hope you find my writings to be friendly and from an enlightened state.

As I focused my attention and look more closely at the blooms bursting from the clay pot, I notice the base of each petal is a deep pink color. It’s a feminine shade of pink that reminds me of that feeling of being enveloped by love, like a motherly embrace and knowing that everything will work out in the end.  The dark pink color forms a star at the base of the peach petals and seems to almost spin into a spiral.  I looked up the symbol of a spiral and learned many cultures and religious traditions used it to represent evolution or the evolving journey of life.

I thought about how my life has been a journey, and what often felt like going round and round in cycles of growth, hopefully learning and becoming wise and coming into alignment with the truth of who I am. When God blows the winds of inspiration into our hearts, is he not leading us to have curiosities in life?  I think he wants us to develop a passion for something, and to use that passion to help the world become better.  

As the evening was coming to a close, what once was bright sunlight faded to a reddish tint in the evening sky.  After researching each aspect of the plant, I took some time to think about how all the elements add up while listening to the first few frogs just sing in the cooling temperatures of the day.  

If flowers could talk, I think the message might encourage us to be friendly and supportive to each other and from a place of higher understanding, as we are discovering our true inner selves and pursuing our passions on this journey we call life. ❀

Sincerely,

Jessica