Wonder Where it Came From

Garden plants in contrast: L (photo of two days ago) R (photo of today
with a brief rainshower the night before)

 

 Another day, another lesson in writing.  The undone exercises for the week in the current 3-week “ Start Writing|Writer’s Workshop”, has piled up. Now, in this beautiful sunny day, I am seated here in my garden again, doing a catch-up, with the television beckoning a dozen steps away for the Pay Per View of the “Mayweather-Guerrero” fight.

The main leads of Lesson 3 is “Wonder Where it Came From”.  Sub leads are as follows:

·         Tell the Story of an Object

o   Writing in turn, teaches us how to see again

·         Outside Lies Magic by John R. Stilgoe|1998

o   Beginnings

·         Finding the story in an object

Visualization, imagination, dreaming has so been the exposure we have had in the past lessons.  This lesson is still about awareness of the environment but this time, adding sensory perception. Here it goes.

The summer heat was extra intense the night before even after the few drops of rain that fell in the early evening. Aaaah, summer in the Philippines is about to end, I said to myself. So, it is with some degree of heightened expectations that I walked out to the garden to check on the heat-stricken plants.  As I walked around I could feel happy vibrations enveloping me: the air smells fresh, the plants were greener, the leaves stood more erect than usual and in my imagination-sensitive mind, I could hear humming and singing which I swear could only come from the swaying branches, that were moving left and right gang nam style.

Seated, my focus turned into a single daisy flower that I saw the other day.  It could not escape my notice that day since surrounded by the parched earth and dried leaves of the other plants around it, it’s bright yellow color heralded it’s proud place in the garden.  It’s green leaves were shining and exudes of freshness, the heat of the day notwithstanding. It is with a bit of disappointment that I noticed that it is gone.  What remains is just the thin stalk where the petals used to be attached to. I began wandering - what could have happened to it:

1.        Did the rain fell on it and caused it to drop to the ground?

2.       Did the ants or birds feasted on it?

3.       Did it achieve its natural life cycle?

To complete my observation, I examined the green leaves of that particular plant.  They appeared healthier and to have grown a little compared to two days ago.  I knew then in my mind that more beautiful yellow flowers will follow to greet me in the future mornings to come. What I could not imagine though is how that particular plant got there. I know nobobdy planted it there. Must have been a bee or a butterfly transporting and depositing pollens to spread the color and joy of that flower.

I shifted my sight on another plant that caught my attention a two days ago. It was dried out pine tree that was planted on a pot. I said to myself then, that plant is dead. I made a mental note to discard it properly.  This morning, after the brief showmer of the night that passed, I looked at it again. I noticed something different in it. From the dull pale brown branches and leaves of a dead plant, they now appear to me to be brighter.  I took a photo of the plants two days ago and I took one today.

Plants are part of man’s God-given gifts.  They are part of the system that makes the world beautiful. So with the cool breeze that I can feel caressing my body and the plants now. The sun shines brighter now and my surrounding are exploding in a menagerie of colors coming from the objects around me ie. the red, orange, pink colors of the flowers, the varying hues of green of the leaves of the different plants, the white garden sets, the bright red color of the garden umbrella. Even the clear color (or the absence of it) of the water in the drinking glass and the transparent pitcher in front of me joined in arousing my senses this beautiful morning of observation. Where did they all come from? It came from a perfect and timeless system that only a divine Being can create.  All that is and all that will be are not the product of accidents.  For what purpose? Visualize, imagine, dream. Maybe writing will give us the answer.