Sitting in the dentist’s chair as the hygienist worked her magic on my teeth, I noticed a poster on the wall: “Flowers are like sunshine fallen from the sky.” That resonated with me. Although my luck with flowers is minimal, I once planted a very small flower garden which consisted of zinnias and sunflowers. When my daughter was four, as those plants were just blooming, she called urgently to me to come to the patio. I thought it was a distress call. Instead, she was expressing excitement. “Look, mommy, look at the beautiful flowers!”
However, I came across another quote from Jon Kabat-Zinn that caused me to consider all that goes into those gifts of nature and, by extension, all of life.
“What seems to be happening at the moment is never the full story of what is really going on. For the honeybee, it is the honey that is important. But the bee is at the same time nature’s vehicle for carrying out cross-pollination for the flowers. Interconnectedness is a fundamental principle of nature. Nothing is isolated. Each event connects with others. Things are constantly unfolding on different levels. It’s for us to perceive the warp and woof of the Oneness of All as best we can and learn to follow our own threads through the tapestry of life with authenticity and resolve.”
Kabat-Zinn’s point is well taken. That fundamental principle of nature, of which he speaks, is critical to a functioning society, a cooperative world. When we lose touch with that sense of interconnectedness, we flounder. We undermine everyone’s best interests. We become disconnected and that disconnect easily devolves into destructive attitudes and behaviors. Henri Nouwen wrote that “Much violence in our society is based on the illusion…that life is a property to be defended and not a gift to be shared.” We certainly see the evidence of that. We are capable of doing so much better.
May we be bearers of hope, the “wait staff” of Hope’s Café for each other and all those we encounter. Shalom, Kate
Hope’s Café Bonus: We could all use some “sunshine fallen from the sky,” about now. Poet Thelma J. Parker describes flowers as “dazzling little poems from the universe.” In the midst of a bruised and suffering world, they are purveyors of hope, little messengers “from the universe.”
Hope's Cafe 