Taking Turns in the Spotlight

I try each morning to enjoy my last cup of coffee outdoors on my front porch and  today was no different.  The chill of the morning surrounds me and the warmth of the coffee cup in my hand makes me feel the gift of yet another day.

While on my front porch, I look around and I am often treated by the sight and the sound of fighting hummingbirds at our feeder hanging in the corner of our porch. I can see and hear the loud thunder of three cranes that spend most of their day on the ten acre parcel directly across the street from us.  On that same piece of property are two deer that run at the same time each morning,  trying to time just perfectly, their crossing of the busy dirt road corner that allows them freedom in the state land once safely on the other side.  I hear the sound of our catbird and our wrens that live in the many gourd birdhouses grown and cleaned by my husband.  I can see bluebirds, still feeding their young, dart in and out all over our property into the many bluebird houses.

Some mornings I choose flowers to bring back into our house and other days I just leave them on their stems so that I can further enjoy them while working outdoors or from the view of our windows.

Today I picked three of my favorite flowers, the peony. We have about 18 full bushes and the colors are white, magenta, pink and red.  They are a huge blossom full of color and petals that say, "Look at me. I can't easily be ignored."  Some are fragrant and some are not.  

As I look at the flowers in our yard I am mindful of the need to take turns being in the spotlight. Each perennial flower arrives and boasts its color for a very short time. The crocus is followed by the daffodil and tulips. The lilac emerges full of color and fragrance and gives way to the irises. The peony tree shows her color while the peony bushes gather their strength and await the visits from the ants before they can open and splash with their color. It goes like this throughout the entire spring, summer and fall season. 

In nature, taking turns is a lesson for us to learn.  We all have our time to be center stage, just like the flowers. And just like the flowers we need to be able to surrender our center stage time to others or share in the spotlight with them. There are lessons to be learned in nature each and every day.