I don't know what it is about mowing the lawn, but my mind goes into deep-thinking mode as I go about the mindless task of circling the lawn as I tend to the job at hand.
This morning, my thoughts drifted to the lilac bush that still stands on our old farm home site. I have few memories of my childhood. But one vivid memory that I do have, is the wafting scent of those lilacs as I played in our yard at the farm as a child.??
To this day, I love the lingering scent of a lilac bush as you walk by when it is in full bloom. It is a sensory touch and brings back such a feeling of happiness. It is a light and unassuming scent. The blossoms come and go quickly, but while they are in full bloom they make their mark.??
My thoughts deepened as I thought of lilacs and how I relate to them. I thought of the lilac bush that we have in our back yard. From the budding of the leaves in the spring; to the enjoyment of the flowers and light aroma in the summer; the tree in its unadorned plainness during our summer; to the twigs in the winter as it hunkers down to survive the dormant season only to reawaken in the spring.??
I feel a kinship to that lilac bush. My seasons don't necessarily correlate with the seasons of the year, but there is the season of rebirth that follows every dormant and stagnant season.??
The lethargy, the hum drum feeling of living the same old life, day after day. Or a time when I must retreat within myself to take root and survive a tough "winter."
This season is followed by a reawakening. A rebirth, a new perspective; which often gives birth to a "bud" of an idea or goal.??
As the idea takes root, it grows and eventually there is a burst of excitement as a goal is attained. The idea has blossomed for others to enjoy.
Then there is the longest season. The season where the bush just sits there, fully in leaf and requiring little maintenance until the leaves finally fall in the autumn of our seasons. This is the season that I like to think of as the mother, daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, niece or friend in me. I'm simply "there" in an ordinary and inconspicuous way.??
Every now and then, I do need to "shed some leaves" and I have a small but mighty group of supporting people who are there during that necessary process as I weather some of life's storms.
I like to think of the wafting scent of that lilac as the way I waft in and out of people's lives. I may have touched someone in a small way and I hope the memory that I leave behind is as light as the unimposing aroma of that lilac bush.
When I leave this Earth, I hope the memories I leave are like a lilac in full bloom. Simple recollections that waft in and out of the consciousness of people I have encountered that leave a pleasant scent in their wake.
