Wildflowers

The John Deere mower cranked up with a bang and a roar.   My son Kevin bought me this great mower a couple of years ago.  I think he felt that mowing my lawn with a tractor and bush hog was a little overkill so he bought me the  John Deere.  I love it.

We just have a couple of acres of grass to mow, the rest of the property is in garden and woods.   I am under considerable pressure to keep the lawn trimmed as we have a neighbor, Smokey, who manicures his lawn to a “T” and there is never a weed or an errant blade of grass out of place.

Gail's Concept of a Perfect Lawn- Not Ours!!

Now I have a slight difference of opinion with my wife.  She likes the way that Smokey mows, neat, trim, consistent, a beautiful lawn.  She sometimes gets exasperated with me and my foibles,  as in, "Why did you leave those weeds in little patches all over the lawn?    Why can’t our lawn look like Smokey’s???"   She is very loving and understanding, but neat, orderly, and loves symmetry.  

Well, I am a softie I guess.    It seems that in my lawn there are always little patches of wild flowers, popping up in random places across the lawn.   Mowing around the wild flowers has become a normal routine for me, I just can't mow them down. 

These aren’t major “brush fires” in the marriage, just a little difference of opinion. 

She is probably right of course, she is my wife!!!  BUT, I see a different view.  I love the little wild flowers, the hearty little individuals, not planted certainly, but  poking their spunky little yellow daisy faces up through the grass as if to say, “Hey, look at me, a gift from God! We’re having fun out here aren’t we?  We are God’s ideas, enjoying this glorious day, basking in the sunshine.   Don’t mow us down, Pat.”

A little impertinent maybe, cocky little startups, but confidently  making their offering of beauty to the world,  showing up even though uninvited!!   

Now, in all honesty, these little wild flowers, Gail calls them weeds, aren’t Shasta Daisy’s, or any special species of plant  with important papers proving their pedigree;  not famous flower “rock stars” with pictures displayed  in the best seed catalogs; they are  just THERE, on their own, content to be  humble representatives of God’s beauty, a gift for me to see and appreciate as I mow the lawn in the heat of the day.  I even talk to them.

I suppose I relate to those little wildfowers, can feel their joy of living, their brashness,… growing where their little “seed feet” found themselves, serendipity,  because of life experiences.   Who am I to say they shouldn’t be there.    Who am I to decide where  and when life should be seen and felt?  Can I just enjoy, not thinking MY WILL BE DONE but instead, exercising a look, live and love philosophy.  

The lesson for me has come over time when I have seen not just flowers, but people, in situations where I felt judgmental, … who do they think they are, what are they doing there, why are they doing that?   Perhaps someone who appeared to be different, maybe an unfamiliar culture; contrasting  life philosophy; physically unattractive, at least to me; maybe rude, indifferent, any number of red flags that would bring up the old judgmental attitude.  When I think of the wildflowers, I remember that I should “mow around them”, appreciate any good I see in them, don’t see them as weeds, different from me, but see the good, even when it may be difficult. 

I have a friend who is a poet and author.  Her web site featuring a selection of her inspiring books is www.suchbeautysurroundsus.com.  What a wonderful name for the site, and how  truly our life improves by seeing and acknowledging that “such beauty does surround us”.   

It is said that “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”  and I have known very few people that didn’t see the beauty in almost any situation when they were looking for it, when their hearts were filled with love, even if it was just a momentary glimpse.  

I love the the wonderful promise of the quote:  “Love never loses sight of loveliness”.**    I cling to that thought when some really unattractive scenes come before my eyes.  I realize that when I see ugliness it is a reflection of my own thinking.  When love fills our hearts and minds, we can see everything as lovely, and beautiful. 

My favorite author wrote of beauty, the beauty that expresses God’s Love, in the following:

Beauty is a thing of life, which dwells forever in the eternal Mind and reflects the charms of His goodness in expression, form, outline, and color.

It is Love which paints the petal with myriad hues, glances in the warm sunbeam, arches the cloud with the bow of beauty, blazons the night with starry gems, and covers earth with loveliness.**

As for the little daisy wildflowers,  grow where you are little guys. Your beauty does not go unnoticed. I’ll still mow around you.  And I’ll hug my dear wife and she will understand!!

See you tomorrow!!!

** Science and Health with key to the Scriptures   Mary Baker Eddy