15 July 2011

Bumblebee Blues: Sip and Gulp

So I'm watching out the kitchen window, where I can see this crepe myrtle bush (or is it a tree? What the hell is a crepe myrtle, anyway?  Sounds like it could be someones grandmother) and it finally dawns on me that it is bigger than it was back in the beginning of spring.  Which is probably not unusual, considering that it is a green, growing thing, and by their inherent nature they tend to grow.  And be green. In this case, what piqued my interest, what got all up in my grille as it were, was that it seemed a lot bigger.  Really.  Considering that I had cropped it back, given it the arborist's equivalent of a flattop fade, I was expecting that there bush to behave itself this summer.  So I wouldn't have to cut it back again.  Well, fuggedaboutit, paisanos, it looks like Gumbo the Gardener will have to engage in some more horticultural ass-whoopin' to get things under control.

So it is that I take on the natural world.  To be fair, the crepe myrtle doesn't bother me that much.  It has grown fast since I cut it back, but it also has a burgeoned with a thick layer of flowers on the branches.  Deep magenta or crimson, I don't know, but there are a lot of them.  As a consequence of all this floral exuberance there have been a plethora of bees flitting about on the bush.  There may have been a hummingbird, too, but I cannot confirm it.  But a hummingbird would be cool.

It was while watching the birds and the bees do their dance (no, sillies, not that dance), on a hot, sunny afternoon that I was granted an insight.  A brief glimpse of the inner workings of life.  The bees were lazily circling about, landing now and them to ravish their chosen dance partners, seeking pollen and being profligate with their affections.  I took to meditating on those bees, wondering if I had been doing the same thing with my life: sipping lightly from so many things and never really staying put with my emotions.  Never taking a break and drinking the nectar of life.  Never grabbing the cup with both hands and just sucking down a few huge gulps, for the sheer sake of knowing I could, and thereby drink deep.  The bees, whether they knew it or not, had just taught me a lesson about gusto.

From small creatures do great lessons flow.  I watched the bees sip from the flowers and considered that maybe, just maybe, I was ready to fill my belly with a few swigs of Life.  Forget finesse, forget being too delicate, too scared of it, I realized it is high time I grab a cup and drink my fill.

It really is too short, ignore the cliche and absorb the truth.  Time to raise a toast to life.

6 comments:

  1. 1. Nothing wrong with "that dance". :)
    2. Oh...to seize joy...to drink of it...to live it. Yes, that is a lesson we can all learn in our lives. It is lovely that you know this is what you want.

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  2. I think you sell yourself short; I think you drink deeply, always have and always will. The bees were merely a nudge to keep on doing it.

    And when you said "sounds like it could be somebody's grandmother," I thought, "Ethel. Ethel Minerva Crepe Myrtle." Take THAT you outlandish Crepe Myrtle!

    I am always glad of reminders to live more authentically, to drink more deeply. We would all do well to remember this.

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  3. I agree w/ Taradharma - you, Irish,are a deep well.

    You see, eyes wide open, and embrace.

    I love that about you!

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  4. "From small creatures do great lessons flow."

    That's going to stick with me for a bit...

    Pearl

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  5. Cheers brother welcome to your life...(I think that was in a song) Enjoy.
    PS. If you need to contact me I will be having tea over at grandma Myrtles cottage.
    Sausage.

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  6. You sound WELL! Keep it up. You always see what needs to be seen and say what needs sayin'...
    Enjoy the "blossoms"..

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"Let your laws come undone
Don't suffer your crimes
Let the love in your heart take control..."


-'The Hair Song', by Black Mountain

Tell me what is in your heart...