Orchid branch

The longest leaf I’ve ever seen

belonged to an orchid most rare.

I watched the leaves tell it where to go

and the wooden stake tell it how to stand strong.

And as I looked into the terracotta pot

I noticed the dry fragmented roots

and I carefully touched them

Making sure they were secure.

As I looked at each closed blossoms,

carefully perched on the vine

I could see that there is more to learn from a branch

than how to lean.

week 22. Stability

Orchids always strike me as such elegant looking flowers. I think it’s the way they stand with such attitude, secured by the tall thin stake that gives them stability. Seeing these flowers recently made me think a bit about how we lean. How much our lives are filled with a need to give and receive support. It seems that unconditional love plays a role in this some how. I have a book called “Living your yoga” by Judith Lasater. In this book Judith Lasater talks about loving with out expectation. She says, “Love in its purest sense is not based upon what you get from the relationship but on what the relationship allows you to give. The depth of your love is not reflected in what others make you feel but in your willingness to give of yourself”. Giving of ourselves is surely and act of love in any form. Understanding the depth of this gift, in the ways we nurture others as well as the way others nurture us allows this flow of love to grow.