In Appreciation…….. of the simple pleasures of life…

Zeena Singh For Eastern Mirror Sunday

Hello folks,

I believe that life has so much to give if only we cared to give a little thought to the most minuscule of joys (which we’d find so much of) only if we’d stop looking at the looming discomforts and discontents.
So here I am, to share with you the simplest joys in my life as I have experienced some time in my life and those that I take as I face each day, at a time.

Stand Alone Bloom

Behind a bamboo fence, a bamboo pole, thoroughly weathered, dull, rough, faded, stripped of all shine and smoothness.
This is the first glimpse, as I take a casual glance outside my south facing kitchen window, early one September morning. I can’t help but let out a coo of delight at my sighting.
After a tussle between spending my time soaking in all that I could of this strikingly lovely vision, I had to peel myself away from the object of my admiration once I had stored it away, captured through my camera lens for later memorable veneration.Beautiful in cheerful sunny yellow, surrounded by pretty green leaves suspended on soft tender creeping vines , a single ‘California Glory’ perched itself high on that bamboo pole behind the bamboo fence. Perhaps the rays of the early morning sun falling directly like a spotlight highlighted this lone blossom and stayed my eye. Or was it something uniquely distinctive?
Not a rare species, no. Then why this carry-on, this fuss and excitement you ask?
What caught my fancy and led to this impulsive exhilaration was the instantaneous outline that this image impressed on my mind.
Uncomplicated and simple, here was an effortless natural showstopper. Standing out, not stark, and sinister- like, but dispersing its beauty. It stole the show, hands down! What struck and captivated my attention was that the dreary, monotonous, routine, bleak surroundings, of where this flower was growing, did not in any way stand as a deterrent to its bloom and luminosity. It was the flower in turn which made its prop, the lacklustre bamboo pole look significantly appealing.
This California Glory did not decide where it was to grow and bloom, it just travelled along where its vines went clinging and climbing just as it was expected to through patches rough or even, craggy or smooth, soiled or scrubbed.
This single spectre moved me to contemplating and associating it with one’s life. Each one of us is like that flower, created for and with a purpose. Irrespective of appearances or functional variations, we are called to play our part. Position, setting, site or locale notwithstanding, the Father above feeds and nurtures and all that is required of us is to grow and bloom to the best of our capacity, changing our immediate environs and situations surpassing excellence.
That’s what my ‘Californian Glory’ did– bloomed to its maximum best, hence beautified its otherwise uninspiring surroundings, and reached out to stir in me a heart full of enthused thankfulness.

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