Digressions: My Life in 500 Words or Less

For my last blog I wrote about the stray single zinnia that popped up away from a flowerbed full of its brethren. The flower, for me, became a metaphor for standing apart from others.

The flower had popped up a couple of months ago, and I had taken photos of it a couple of weeks after it appeared. Then it was another couple of weeks before I wrote the blog.

Just after I wrote that blog, the zinnia got company.

Another flower grew from its stem.

That made me smile.

Sure, that’s what flowers do, but since I saw it as a metaphor to begin with it’s difficult not to see it as a continuation of that. And what a great metaphor.

When you stand apart from others you might stand alone for a while, but that doesn’t mean you will remain alone. Beautiful things might grow from you and with you, and others who stand apart might stand with you.

That’s the thing about life: things can change in an instant.

I realize that doesn’t mean they always change for the better. And I know some of the changes are expected or planned.

The zinnia, for instance, has another bud emerging from its stem, so it looks like another flower will bloom. It is not an extraordinary event.

But it hasn’t bloomed yet, and so much can happen unexpectedly that could keep it from blooming. Maybe wind will damage the plant, or maybe a sudden unseasonal frost will kill it. Someone or some animal could unintentionally, or even intentionally, kill it.

And maybe none of them will happen. Maybe the third flower will bloom unhindered, soaking up the remaining days of sunlight like a thirsty dog lapping up the last bit of liquid in its water bowl.

The point is we expect some things in life are likely, but we can’t be sure of so many things. Truth be told, we can’t be sure of anything. We simply take for granted we’ll live to see the next moment, but not everyone does.

Still, a zinnia that stands apart from its flower bed and sprouts another bloom is not a miraculous event. It is, however, proof that some things can be unexpected.

And from those unexpected moments, sometimes beauty blossoms in good company.