Spring...Where Are You?

Life often seems to rain on our parade or snow in the middle of April. This morning I woke up to weather not knowing what it wanted to do. It was both raining and snowing at the same time and once it decided to snow and dust us with the fluffy white stuff, I was surprised that it actually accumulated. Now snow in the middle of April in Southern Ontario is expected but it usually doesn’t stick…I checked on my Daffodils and was slightly moved as they seemed dismayed lying there face down in the snow, looking completley defeated.

As I looked at their bright and proud little yellow heads peekin out from underneath the snow. I was reminded of the song The Rose by Bette Midler. Once I brushed off my nostalgia, I could see and hear the beauty speaking to me from these crushed Daffodils. I felt a wave of creativity wash over me and I armed myself with my handy dandy Canon Powershot S51S and tried my hand at a little still life flower photography....hmmm, I suck...I think I'll stick to my pastels because for some reason what my artistic eye was trying to capture and my camera's function ability, frustratingly seems to be very much out of sync...I have a lot of admiration for all you photographers out there. One day I will discipline myself to read my camera's instruction manual and maybe take a course or two.

I think what I was no doubt trying to capture was this...Their beautiful heads had obviously been brutally pushed down by the weight of the flakes, or maybe this wasn't against their will. Possibly in the grander scheme of things the weight of the snow had actually supported them in assuming a posture, that protected their most vulnerable and fragile parts from the harsh elements. Their own little reproductive creativity centres...I wanted to capture the beauty and inner strength that is found in our vulnerability.

I too have assumed postures that to an outside observer would look like I was a coward and shrinking away in defeat. This was far from the truth though as it takes a lot more courage to bow ones head and be silent, in order to look deeply within when facing life's storms...