April Showers can Break a Flower

Have you ever sat, face up, in a rainstorm?Felt the drops land on your skin?Sometimes they are soft and warm, often they’ve got a little heftNow, imagine if you were a 3 gram flowerNot sitting out in the rain by choiceGetting hit in the face relentlessly for hours or daysThat can be hard on a little flowerSometimes it knocks her right to the groundSometimes the flower will rise again when the sun comes outBut sometimes it won’tThe rain doesn’t intend to hurt the flowerThe rain just hydrates the soilHydrated soil nourishes foliageLife grows and bends and breaks and bloomsI remember the first time I heard about natural selectionFramed as survival of the fittest. Maybe 6th grade.I wondered if flowers in the meadowWere really at war for sunlight above the ground and nutrients belowHow sad it would beIf flowers were neurotic about getting what they need in order to bloomI decided it was impossibleMeadows could not be both gorgeousAnd the product of warring interestsAs life and education advancedI learned that while there may be some competitionThat shapes nutrients and growth patternsThere’s a whole lot of cooperation going on undergroundAnd not just the roots of the flowers and grassesBut the mycelial networks that connect themAnd a host of worms and insects, bacteria and fungiAbove ground, the warmth of the sunPollination on the windThe welcome drink from the rainSubtle influences from every quarterThere’s a classic Buddhist storyOf Buddha, instead of giving his usual sermonSimply holding up a flowerOnly one disciple ‘got it’And I’m not exactly certain what he ‘got’But I’ve always felt it was ‘everything’Every element of creation throughout all of timePulsing together, combining and recombiningInfinite influences meeting finite elementsAll to bring youThis one flowerUnlike any one before itHereGorgeousImpermanentThe past and the future contained in this glistening presentBlossoming with beauty, texture and fragranceFeeding the bees and insectsEnduring wind and rain and sun - sometimes as gift, sometimes as trialTo be here. Alive. Growing.Then dissolving back into soilLike each one of usHaving been part of the wonder of creationNot forever, but for that one eternal momentGiving everything it had been givenIts fragrance still carried in the wind This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fallingtenderly.substack.com