Last Flower Standing

As the heat has blazed and the summer has sped past, so much of the color has been washed from the neighborhood. The flowers of summer have passed and it is still too hot to plant for Fall, so the streets seem a little drab and dreary. I suppose that is why this little flower bed stood out as I walked down this street. It seemed as if I had discovered the last flower standing.

I found myself realizing how much of life I take for granted. The flowers that were so beautiful that they caught my eye each morning as these walks began were soon going unnoticed. These streets that had produced numerous photo opportunities day after day began to seem mundane. My vision was not quite as sharp as when I began.

We can often do the same with the blessings of our everyday life. People who are closest to us can can go unseen. A warm, cool, dry home is taken for granted. Appreciation for the good work we are blessed to have is replaced by a sense of entitlement. Being of sound health becomes a given. Even the idea of God’s presence loses it awe and wonder.

How sad. When we become desensitized and lose our ability to be aware of the moment, we miss so much in life and so much of life misses us. The simple joys. The mystery of it all. The smile of one who loves us. The breath on which all of our life rides as we walk this precarious path. What a shame to be oblivious to even one minute of such gifts and blessings.

That is why I am grateful this day to happen upon the last flower standing. Oh, it has seen better days, but then, so have I. It has been brighter and healthier, but it is holding on. It is still doing its thing, fulfilling its purpose in the world, adding to the beauty of life to all who pass that way. It makes me want to do the same.

Peace.