Wonder Unfurling

I am sitting on the small patio of our new home. It is overcast and comfortably cool – perfect for hot coffee and a good book and the stillness of a Sunday afternoon with nothing to do but nothing. And plenty of guiltless time to do it. It is a book that invites pauses – but not deep reflection. A wonderful story by an author who writes such delightful sentences that I occasionally find myself laughing out loud – not simply for the great good humor, but for the way of words still to surprise, to entertain. His sentences alternate crisp, punchy dialogue with long, meandering paragraphs taking the reader to places that are at once unknown and familiar. Capturing in a phrase the subtle shift of emotion a raised eyebrow signals. Luxuriating in the deep beauty of a small flower garden, surrounded by ancient stone walls. To read is to join in a wonder unfurling.

In one of those pauses, I notice our plumeria. It has made the move with us and now sits in a place of pride, anchoring the tiny garden bordering the patio on which I sit. This is its second move so, if history repeats, it will go into a stage of dormancy while adjusting to the new surroundings – but right now it is in full leaf with flowers just beginning to unfurl. There are a few fragrances that have the power of transportation – and plumeria is one of them. In a couple of days, the pale yellow flowers will have the ability to take me to Maui or Kaua’i in a moment – for a moment. Such a delicate, sweet, headiness. Aromatherapy in a plastic pot. The fragrance of a wonder unfurling.

Not five feet away is a tree that appears to be part of the eucalyptus branch of the family –its bark telling the story of growth from the inside out. Splits, cracks, sheets – history in bark. The emerging of a wonder unfurling.

And how much more the children playing in the pocket park across the street, or the couple walking their dogs, or the rhythm and scrape of the approaching skateboard, or smell of bar-b-que signalling dinner, or the gentle breeze caressing and teasing the leaves overhead, dappling the sunlight. Wonders all. Unfurling.

There is much to reflect on – displacements, injustices, racism played loud in stereo, the deaths of innocents.

But, for this moment, on this day, it is enough to consider wonder. And rejoice in its unfurling.