A family of leaves

I look at each leave and it is clear they are related.

Each one is slightly different.

One larger.

One louder.

One never shows his hand.

So I place them in a line

and then into sections;

and wonder I how this is fair?

How can they be the same

when circumstances divide,

creating beautiful imperfections

and deep rooted scars

which forever remain.

Week 38. Brothers and sisters.

I have been collecting families of leaves these days. Examining the small differences between leaves from the same tree. It’s fascinating to notice the spots, the browning edges, and the splattered inky blotches. As I look at the variety within a single family of leaves I think about my siblings. I think about the things that divide us and the things that bond us together. There are things from our pasts that no other person has lived through but us. But now that we are older our lives seem to divide. I watch my brother struggling with radiation therapy and I think about how each one of us must make choices as to how we can help. I have come to realize that letting go of the hurt from the past is instrumental in being able to give unconditionally.