The Joy of Tulips

Tulips…whereas my abandoned tulips planted too late have not shown signs of life (yet!), I have been getting a lot more joy than usual from my tulips.

I always love to watch the tight green buds become so incredibly bright. I love the colors and the wild combinations, the way the light shines through the petals. I love watching the colors of each tulip change, the yellow petals with an almost undetectable red edge becomes a red streaked.

At a time when many joys are inaccessible, this accessible joy has expanded more than I would have expected to be possible.

On Building a Tiny Path

I built a tiny path, too small for a mouse, too big for an ant. No creature, as far as I have been able to ascertain, has taken this path, and the path itself doesn’t lead much of anywhere. I gathered pebbles in shades of gray and off-white. The path meandered from a sand castle up towards a little rift of grass, dry and tough, still waiting to send out new growth. I meandered through even less spectacular scenes.

This creative undertaking was all about the process. It was very small, completely temporary, utterly pointless, and yet deeply satisfying. The simplicity of the task was calming. Arranging pebbles carefully was consuming. If one rolled down a tiny hill, I picked it back up, the disaster insignificant within the insignificant project.

It is rare that I find the time and prioritize the energy to do something this seemingly insignificant. It is now on my to-do list for tomorrow, which seems paradoxical or absurd, but if a to-do list is the way to get something done, I’m for it. Even if that something is a pebble path never taken.

Note: I attempted to publish this on 3/13, but apparently I published two blank posts instead. I blame my phone.