A few days ago I took advantage of having time to take a long walk. It was a lovely spring day around 70 degrees with sunshine and a light breeze. In the city where I live there are many crabapple and other flowering trees, and they were in full bloom. Some had white flowers, others were various shades of pink, and all were beautiful. Each spring the crabapple flowers bloom for only about two weeks, and I’m thankful I was able to see them.
Taking in the beauty of the flowers reminded me of the importance of appreciating the present moment. Often we’re so busy thinking about what needs to be done or what we want to do in the future that we don’t notice the special aspects of the present. I realize our ability to do this depends on what is going on in our lives and of course there are times when it’s essential that we focus on something that needs to be attended to. What I’m suggesting is that we check in with ourselves to see whether we’ve gotten into a pattern of not noticing those seemingly small things that can help us appreciate parts of each day.
Seeing the flowering trees also reminded me that there is much beauty in our world. We all know from news stories and history that there are and have been many dark and wrong happenings in our world, and it’s important that we try to do what we can to decrease that darkness. We can do this by trying to listen to our inner voice and endeavoring to follow our individual paths, and thereby to grow in consciousness. Every person who becomes more conscious helps to counteract the darkness. Expressing this symbolically, every person who becomes more conscious is a blossom on a flowering tree, adding to that which is beautiful in our world.