Be Open

During my daily walk around the block, I pass by this colorful spread of flowers.  I took note of how they express their vibrancy as they lay in the open sun.  The green compliments them in places where the green leaves are able to come shining through.  But for the most part, these little ultra pink beauties lay in the open for all to behold.  I could not help but stop and take a picture.

Days later I took a walk later in the day.  I looked forward to taking in the beauty of the flowers once again.  However this time I noticed something entirely different.  The flowers had closed up.  The petals of the tiny vibrant flowers were not spread open for me to behold. They held themselves upright in a collective unison of attention.  While the colorful array of green and ultra pink was still beautiful to take in, the lack of openness caused me to think about why the flowers were closed.

As I observed the surroundings, I noted there was some shading.  So perhaps the lack of or the absence of the sun shining down on them caused them to close.  Perhaps without the sun, the temperature was a bit cooler, and they prefer the heat of the day.  Or was it because it was later in the day, they had spent their time and energy being open and I had missed the moment.  Whatever it was, there was something missing for me.

Let’s look at this from a human perspective.  We encounter one another day in and day out.  We look forward to being in one another’s presence.  We look forward to beholding all that we are and what we have to offer each other.  In effect, we look forward to the openness of each other.  We look forward to seeing one another shine forth, full of light, life, love, and laughter (if I stay with an ‘L’ theme.)  And there is so much more to each of us… However, when we show up closed, we lack that effervescence of whom we are. 

What causes us to close up?  Is it because our energy is spent?  Perhaps we are not feeling those emotions that would cause us to show up.  Or we might be responding to the absence of what we had expected.  Whatever it is, we can realize that there are some external factors that are just outside of our control.  And no matter what those factors are, we have choice.  We do not have to limit ourselves, shrink, or close up.  We always have a choice and the opportunity to choose to show up!

 So, I encourage you to take care of yourself.  I encourage you to tap into that which is within that would enable you to show up live and in living color.  Be open!