I left a doctor’s appointment worried about diagnostic and treatment challenges and in increased pain from having to climb two flights of stairs and then walk down. On the sidewalk, I noticed the dogwood tree.
I looked at several blossoms for quite some time. Heart rate slowed, my stomach unclenched, and I had a moment where I was free from all of the challenges I did not want but cannot avoid for myself and my loved ones. I simply lived.
When I look back at the photo in the future, I will know it came at a turbulent time, but I probably will not remember the specifics of the storm. I will remember the blossom’s beauty, the feel of a slight breeze on my face, the smell of the garden sheltered under the tree’s branches. It didn’t matter that the tree was far past full blossom.
Find your moments. They are real, they are lasting, they nurture us when we are caught up in the power of the storm. Like the tree, we will not always be in full beauty. Many of us will never know what it is to be in full, healthy bloom. We are no less alive for our imperfections. We just need to find and treasure the moments of perfect imperfection