Waiting for Tulips
Nettie Bozanich
I wouldn’t exactly call myself a patient person. Patience is an art and I’m its student.
I had a chance to practice this art with the tulips in our backyard this Spring. The leaves sprouted and created a mass of deep and richly coloured foliage. I would peak out of the window a couple of times a day waiting for the blooms. Our neighbours’ tulips had bloomed; why were ours so slow?
It took a few days but soon I saw hearty buds. The next day those buds gave me a peak inside of the vibrant yellow to come. And then finally – the tulips arrived! What a lovely reward for my patience!
While gazing at the beautiful blossoms, I began to reflect on my simple experience. I realized that while I was waiting for the tulips to bloom, I missed the experience of enjoying the green, smooth, strong leaves and the process of the blooming. I was waiting only for the flower. Life’s like that, I thought. So often we wait for the bloom, the point of arrival and in turn we forget to enjoy the blossoming, the journey.
And I also realized that this blooming, this renewal is part of a cycle. In another part of our yard, a beautiful tree has gnarled and died. But it is in its death that life can begin. Life’s like that, too, I thought, there must be dying and living, endings and beginnings.
Our tulips have bloomed. It is a magnificent time of year. But it is not just the blooms that are wonderful but the process, too. And in that process I must accept that there will be dying. It is a cycle. It is nature’s renewal.
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Nettie Bozanich
I wouldn’t exactly call myself a patient person. Patience is an art and I’m its student.
I had a chance to practice this art with the tulips in our backyard this Spring. The leaves sprouted and created a mass of deep and richly coloured foliage. I would peak out of the window a couple of times a day waiting for the blooms. Our neighbours’ tulips had bloomed; why were ours so slow?
It took a few days but soon I saw hearty buds. The next day those buds gave me a peak inside of the vibrant yellow to come. And then finally – the tulips arrived! What a lovely reward for my patience!
While gazing at the beautiful blossoms, I began to reflect on my simple experience. I realized that while I was waiting for the tulips to bloom, I missed the experience of enjoying the green, smooth, strong leaves and the process of the blooming. I was waiting only for the flower. Life’s like that, I thought. So often we wait for the bloom, the point of arrival and in turn we forget to enjoy the blossoming, the journey.
And I also realized that this blooming, this renewal is part of a cycle. In another part of our yard, a beautiful tree has gnarled and died. But it is in its death that life can begin. Life’s like that, too, I thought, there must be dying and living, endings and beginnings.
Our tulips have bloomed. It is a magnificent time of year. But it is not just the blooms that are wonderful but the process, too. And in that process I must accept that there will be dying. It is a cycle. It is nature’s renewal.
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