Above is a photo I took during my morning meditation walk. Below is a haiku inspired by the photo. Please share a haiku that comes to you as you view the photo. (A traditional haiku is 3 lines: 5 syllables, 7 syllables and 5 syllables.)
Shadowy imprints
From fallen leaves after their
Brief time in the sun.
This is the Nicotina Mutabilis, a flowering tobacco plant. The name mutabilis literally means changing. It's mutable. Each blossom begins as a white cloudbursts that shifts to a blushing pink and deepens to a lusty rose. This lovely plant reminds me that I have a constant choice in life. I can greet uninvited change with resistance, blame and judgment. Or, once I pass through the unpleasant feelings, I can accept change for what it is: inevitable. It's neither personal nor unfair. It simply is the way of things.
I admit that my obsession with how life "should have been" has kept me stuck. I've often looked at life through the rearview mirror of resentment and victimhood. Today I choose acceptance, and I'm primed...not for passivity...but for moving forward here and now. I notice the changing pigments of my life and relish the subtle hues of this moment.
Nicotina shifts:
White. Pink. Red. Spinning beauty
Out of constant change.