I am sitting in the parking lot, waiting for the local bookstore, The Book Bin, to open. I am here because of a flower. And a pear tree turned maple. And a sense of time and space. And the writer Dostoyevsky.
Sipping my morning coffee, with the Jeep’s soft top down, I feel the heat and humidity of the day gaining momentum. I have ten minutes to kill, but there is no rush. I am in no hurry.
I am not a particular admirer of flowers or plants, nor fond of gardening. You will find no green in my thumb. I struggle to tell the difference between tulips and roses or what qualifies as a annual versus a perennial. Becky is both president and vice-president of landscaping and curb appeal for our home. But every year, after Chicago thaws out from another nasty winter, there is one pink plant I notice from July to the frost.
The routine is one I have done a thousand times. A long day of work followed by a quick drive home. I turn into my driveway, stopping short of the messy garage. I grab my evening Starbucks and step out of the car, making a bee-line for the front door. Just to the left of the brick paver walkway, pink flowers bloom on the tall arching hibiscus plant. Ten year ago, Madison and Maya won an Earth day contest resulting in a hibiscus plant in the front yard and a Pear tree in the back. Now, every time I see the pink flowers, a Pavlovian response follows. See hibiscus; think of Madison. The pink flowers stand out as the summer days get longer. But the reflexive thought is usually fleeting. I have a narrow two-hour window to play catch-up with the family, eat some food, and take care of some odds and ends before getting ready for evening water polo practice.
But this has been a year of change. More weeks off of work than on. Days slower, pressure lower. Options greater. Headspace clearer.
Yesterday, I got out of the car and looked just to the left of the brick paver walkway; pink flowers bloom on the tall arching Hibiscus plant.
I paused.
I deviated from pattern and routine. I literally stepped off the brick pavers and walked through the dirt. I kneeled, and for the first time in ten years, I looked. Not rushed and fatigued, but with the unassuming eyes of a child.
Was it the way the day’s light caught the blooming flower? Or its movement, as it swayed back and forth in the afternoon breeze? I stopped. I looked. Differently. Not with an expectation of confirming what I knew to be true. Not reflexive with a programmed response. But with eyes and mind open in a way they often are not.
Not a simple single color, but pink and dynamic, with pattern and texture. Not just petals, but a flower with a complex architecture that I forgot existed. I am mesmerized. I focus. I take pictures, trying to capture or preserve what my eyes see. There literally is a world of things present that I have not noticed previously, all backlit by light emanating from small slits in the petals left open at the base.
I have written, in the abstract, about increased time and space since going part-time. But it’s concrete and tangible right here in this flower. My mind is unencumbered by the weight of a twelve-hour work day or a week’s accumulation of fatigue. There is no pressure of a two-hour window closing in on me as I stop to smell the roses; or in this case, the Hibiscus. I walk around to the backyard. A few years ago, we identified the pear tree correctly as a maple. I look up at what was once a six-foot tree which, to my surprise, towers overs me by at least thirty feet. Thick branches, once thin and pliable, have weathered quite a few storms over the years. Despite viewing the tree daily through the kitchen window, I have missed this transformation.
Patterns and behaviors. Expectations and assumptions. Tools often necessary to get thru challenging days. They consume less energy, tapping less into one’s reserve, to operate more on auto-pilot or cruise control. But that path foreword is limited and constricted. One where the hibiscus remains just a pretty pink flower, and the maple six feet tall.
Time and space. Look left and right. Stop assuming. Be more curious, and have fewer expectations. Break patterns and rethink behaviors.
I didn’t read Crime and Punishment in high school or college. Over the years, when I came across references to the book and its protagonist Raskolnikov, I made mental notes to buy and read the book, but never followed thru. Too little time. Never made it high enough on the to do list. In a few minutes that will change. I am waiting for Book Bin to open and I am going to buy that book.
Time and space. Break Patterns. Rethink behaviors.
Madison comes home soon to visit for a week. He’s about to move into his own apartment in Oregon. Maya’s about to start her senior year, with quite of few colleges on her mind. Becky is gearing up to offer tutoring services in a more formal fashion. We are a family with quite a bit of transformation ahead. But despite the potential and promise of the upcoming year, I am in no hurry to launch myself forward.
Days slower. Headspace clearer.
I drive away from the Book Bin, Crime and Punishment in hand. I am ready to read it. With more time and space. With more curiosity and fewer expectations. And with unassuming eyes and a mind wide open.
