Orchid seedlings

I have been thinking about change lately and have been themeing on dedication, patience, forbearance, trust... On Friday morning I was happily surprised when I was reading about flowers in the garden and I stumbled upon the orchids. The general rule of is that orchids take 3-5 years to seed and sprout. However the stanphopoea orchid takes over 7 years of care to germinate and sprout.

I loved this. As I have been thinking about change I think of how much change can be happening without us noticing it until over time the change becomes so full it blossoms into our life and it becomes obvious to us and others.

I wrote about this a few posts back. But how many times have you felt stuck in yoga? you show up and practice but it doesn't feel like a ton is happening? I have had a few of these "plateaus" but it turns out that during these plateaus I didn't stop growing, instead the growth was happening on the inside and I continue to see new aspects in my life that are a direct result of my practice that I didn't have before (patience, wiliness, courage, openness).

This magnificent orchid may appear like nothing is happening on the outside, but that does not mean a TON isn't happening on the inside! All flowers to me are a visual reminder of grace. Grace is that force which reveals to us our true nature. This seedling just sits full of grace, although we might not think that at first since we can not see the insides, but it is always there, until one day years later it reveals its beauty to us and I connect with that beauty as grace and it helps me remember that the same beauty and grace in the flowers resides in my own heart. Grace is always there. It is a force that lives in us, that is us. We all experience it and we are all it.

Nameste to the flowers, to the people, and to you my friend.