Life and death. So far and yet so close.

I am sad to say that our family experienced a sudden, unexpected death this past week.  Such times inevitably result in personal introspection – what is the state of our relationships with others? Are we at peace with God if tomorrow we should meet our Maker? During these moments of self-examination, I often turn to nature for consolation and inspiration.

The crabapples in our neighborhood are in full flower this week, but those flowers are susceptible to the wind.  At one house, so many petals had fallen that it looked like a drift of snow up against the grass.

On our patio, the scattering of petals mimicked snowflakes.  So delicate. 

It made me sad to think that so quickly the spring beauty of the trees would be gone.

Then I looked at the crabapple that donated the petals, and saw the bumblebees that were working overtime to collect the pollen before the impending thunderstorm stripped the tree.  The flowers may pass away, but they will be replaced by the miniature apples that will feed the birds and the squirrels through the fall and winter. The bumblebees would convert the pollen to honey.

My lessons from these observations? 

1: Enjoy beauty in the moment.

“Flowers that are offered for the dead, do not know the difference of where their beauty will be placed, they do not say, "This is not a palace" or "This is not a garden"; they just are. They are just beautiful, without giving regards to whether they are placed on a grave or in a castle. Flowers are just beautiful, whether they grow by the wayside or in a manicured garden. If we were all like flowers, then we would all be beautiful, with no regards to why or how. We just are. We are just beautiful.” C. JoyBell C.

2: Life goes on in an unending cycle that benefits different groups at different times; we all have a role to play in living a life that matters.

“At the end of life, what really matters is not what we bought but what we built; not what we got but that we shared; not our competence but our character; and not our success but our significance.  Live a life that matters.   Live a life of love.”  Author Unknown