“Everything…will start again anew. Cause everything…just goes away my friend. And every king knows it to be true, that every kingdom, must one day come to an end.” ––Ben Howard, Singer/Songwriter
An ending to every beginning is inevitable, even for life’s most magical moments. In the spaces between them, we are challenged by loss and sadness, as well as blessed with pleasure and beauty.
Without the turning over of all things wondrous and painful we could not evolve. We could not appreciate the joy we only feel after knowing real suffering, or experience the sweet release of tension that is poured from us through our tears. But let us not forget, just like kingdoms that have once risen only to one day fall, the turning over of these legacies means meaningful imprints are left behind. We are gifted the opportunity to learn and grow from examining the figurative ruins.
It occurred to me during an evening walk in June, that flowers, like some kingdoms, are gleaming examples of something thriving that eventually come to an end. They blossom, serve their inherent purpose, and then pass on. Their primary function is to pollinate––to enable fertilization and reproduction. Their petals are vividly colored and boldly scented in order to attract pollinators.
We benefit from the flower’s delicate and sweet presence in our homes. They effortlessly bring a smile to our faces when we are gifted a bouquet, and when their herbal essence is extracted, we are nurtured by their therapeutic and healing properties.
Peonies top the list of the flowers I adore, and leave me breathless every time I stop to rest my nose into one. For their very short time here, they appear to be smiling, as though they know how much I appreciate their simple and fragile elegance. It isn’t long until their delicate petals decorate the earth like confetti and perhaps that is why I cherish them so much. But as I write this, I can conjure up their perfume and visualize their femininity as if they were right in front of me, gracefully resting in a vase.
With their passing on, flowers leave behind the sweetest imprint of how they once made us feel, of how they once smelled and charmed us. It is possible that without them eventually transitioning to their infinite resting place; we might not appreciate their time here with us to the degree we do.
As it should be with all things in our lives. Ever changing. Every evolving. Moving from one state of being to another. To stay the same causes complacency and lack of appreciation for who we are and what we are doing during each transition of life. Without the creation and fading away of new moments, our relationships grow stale, creativity goes away to die, and unpleasant habits find the cracks in our souls.
With each moment we have an opportunity to reinvent ourselves––to breathe inspiration into our work, to plant seeds of ingenuity, and co-create brighter, more joyful, more whole and complete lives. With each moment, we are gifted new beginnings. We get to laugh after we have cried, connect after we’ve felt alone, and serve when we feel we haven’t contributed. We get to rebuild our kingdoms within, letting them rise and fall, and learn from their ruins. This is the sweet essence of life. It is the nectar that makes each and every breathe so enjoyable. So precious. So pleasurable.
