Lilies of Peace

  Early this morning, I noticed that one of the waterlilies had decided to bloom.  My sweet daughter-in-law bought the lilies back years ago when I was trying to refurbish the little Frog Pond.  Hurricane Katrina had buried the pond under ten feet of debris and literally killed everything in it.  That was when I decided to forego any cute little fish and just let the thing become a natural place for the frogs.  It seemed selfish that I was forever cleaning out the masses of stringy frog and toad eggs to let some fish that really did not belong have access to the water.  Goldfish and Koi are lovely but really do not have a place on the Bayou.  Frogs and toads do live here and are just as nice.  So, the pond became designated for the critters and with Joanna's help, I filled it with plants that those critters would love.  When Joanna bought the lilies, she got both pink and yellow.  They bloom every summer and add a bit of loveliness to the pond.  Those, along with the water hyacinths, provide lots of shade and protection for the frogs. Today, the pink lily bloomed.  This is the first of the season and I am sure there will be many more. 

  Waterlilies have a bit of lore tied to them.  Long ago, they were considered almost sacred.  The flowers represent purity.  They rise from a muddy pond but always stay clean.  Most colors of the lilies represent some spiritual quality but it is the pink that is most precious. It was thought to represent what a person is enduring at the time.  If you find the pink lily stays a bud and does not open, it represents that you have a long way to go before reaching spiritual completeness.  One that stays partially closed during the day, is said to show that you are making progress but still have a journey ahead of you.  To find one that is fully open with its entire beauty laid out before you means that you are enlightened to nature around you and have found peace within yourself. I am pleased to say that the lilies in the Frog Pond always open in their entirety.  Their full and glorious beauty shoot forth to fill the day with a bit of wonderment.  

  Perhaps, indeed, I have found my place within nature and have found a peace within my own self.  I am always in awe of the pulchritude Mother Nature provides even in the most mundane places.