Beauty is not optional
The May assignment of the Writing Circle in Safely Harbor is to write about one’s relationship with flowers.
Recently, my sister Pat sent me a photo of an Iris, the bulb of which comes from our Grandma Fannie’s yard. Grandma Fannie had a large yard in which one would find many plants blooming all summer long. This time of year, the last of the Iris’s would be blooming. She had many colors and varieties. All of them, however, were beautiful, proud, seemingly delicate, with thin petals which were, I am sure, the inspiration for choreographers such as Balanchine as well as the costume designers for his dancers. Balanchine’s creations make delicious use of hands which can stir an expectant memory with a slight movement. In that movement, one will see the fuzzy edges which lead to …
I have lived in third floor walkups flats which shared a bathroom with a Japanese woman who would come into my apartment, bow and close the door. This was Washington D.C. where one dare not miss the possibility of a slight zephyr by closing doors connecting the two sides of the building. I have lived in a large Victorian house and I have lived in small studio apartments. No matter where I lived, if one visited, one would always find a least a single flower set in a vase salvaged from some yard sale. Sometime one would find a bouquet which threatened to evict it co-tenant – me. There were times when I walked many extra blocks to save the nickel bus transfer fee, but I could still wring the budget for that few cents to buy a single fresh flower.
Today I have flowering plants in my dining area and the office. There is also a carnation next to my laptop. These amazing creations of nature accompany the artwork of friends which fill the walls and sit on various tables. Some like the miniature Tlingit totem pole rest on the floor in the entry area.
When I traveled to Europe and later to Estonia just prior to the fall of the Soviet Union and found food and other necessities In short supply or non-existent everyone still had fresh flowers and art. In Estonia, sometimes the rich history of paintings and sculptures were not to be found in public spaces, but one might see a sculpture made out of munition parts next to a bombed-out building.
Whether in the dyes which created the rich pattern weaved into clothes and rugs or the patterns fired into priceless pottery one finds beauty in the form of art, fresh flowers, and colorful garments. In the villages of Southeast Alaska, one finds fishhooks, totem poles (the only recorded history) and other survival items lovingly carved and painted.
It seems that most of those traveling with us on this brief earthly journey have always known the intricate designs and colors which emerge from tree branches, bulbs, and seeds were not an accident. Sometimes the flowers announce the impending arrival of food which will nourish parts of the body, but first, yes first, comes food for the soul. If the body is not resting in the soul no amount of food for the physical body will be sufficient for life. When the body is off just a bit then herbs, each with its own delicate flowers, arrive to return the body to itself.
Beauty is not optional.
Words – 571
Jimmy F. Pickett May 3, 2018
The May assignment of the Writing Circle in Safely Harbor is to write about one’s relationship with flowers.
Recently, my sister Pat sent me a photo of an Iris, the bulb of which comes from our Grandma Fannie’s yard. Grandma Fannie had a large yard in which one would find many plants blooming all summer long. This time of year, the last of the Iris’s would be blooming. She had many colors and varieties. All of them, however, were beautiful, proud, seemingly delicate, with thin petals which were, I am sure, the inspiration for choreographers such as Balanchine as well as the costume designers for his dancers. Balanchine’s creations make delicious use of hands which can stir an expectant memory with a slight movement. In that movement, one will see the fuzzy edges which lead to …
I have lived in third floor walkups flats which shared a bathroom with a Japanese woman who would come into my apartment, bow and close the door. This was Washington D.C. where one dare not miss the possibility of a slight zephyr by closing doors connecting the two sides of the building. I have lived in a large Victorian house and I have lived in small studio apartments. No matter where I lived, if one visited, one would always find a least a single flower set in a vase salvaged from some yard sale. Sometime one would find a bouquet which threatened to evict it co-tenant – me. There were times when I walked many extra blocks to save the nickel bus transfer fee, but I could still wring the budget for that few cents to buy a single fresh flower.
Today I have flowering plants in my dining area and the office. There is also a carnation next to my laptop. These amazing creations of nature accompany the artwork of friends which fill the walls and sit on various tables. Some like the miniature Tlingit totem pole rest on the floor in the entry area.
When I traveled to Europe and later to Estonia just prior to the fall of the Soviet Union and found food and other necessities In short supply or non-existent everyone still had fresh flowers and art. In Estonia, sometimes the rich history of paintings and sculptures were not to be found in public spaces, but one might see a sculpture made out of munition parts next to a bombed-out building.
Whether in the dyes which created the rich pattern weaved into clothes and rugs or the patterns fired into priceless pottery one finds beauty in the form of art, fresh flowers, and colorful garments. In the villages of Southeast Alaska, one finds fishhooks, totem poles (the only recorded history) and other survival items lovingly carved and painted.
It seems that most of those traveling with us on this brief earthly journey have always known the intricate designs and colors which emerge from tree branches, bulbs, and seeds were not an accident. Sometimes the flowers announce the impending arrival of food which will nourish parts of the body, but first, yes first, comes food for the soul. If the body is not resting in the soul no amount of food for the physical body will be sufficient for life. When the body is off just a bit then herbs, each with its own delicate flowers, arrive to return the body to itself.
Beauty is not optional.
Words – 571
Jimmy F. Pickett May 3, 2018
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