The Perseverance of a Flower

The real voyage of discovery consists of not in seeking new landscapes
but in having new eyes. - Marcel Proust

When I began this project it was my hope that it would train me look at the world in a more observant way, to see things as they are and not as my eyes expect them to be.

One of the things I have discovered is that my life is not really a very interesting one. So much of my experience of life is conducted on a cerebral level (fancy words for I live in my head a lot). Fortunately I have Dixie and we have our walks. Even so, we sometimes find ourselves in a rut looking at the same things every day.

I try to stay alert, try to see things in a different way, challenge my perspective, and most importantly try not to space out. Try not to lose myself in my past or some possible future and forget to look at all.

We have been so fortunate with our weather down here on the Sussex coast but the pollen count is quite high today and that makes me a little spacey. On my way back from the shops I was thinking how tired I was and how heavy my shopping bags were and how much longer I would have to walk to reach my house...

I looked down and spotted this clematis. It was in the front garden of neighbors who clearly have more important ways to occupy themselves than keeping up with their garden. The clematis has probably been there for years.. long before they ever moved in.

I loved its velevety softness and its persistence! Just knowing of it existence caused a lightness in my step. To see something keep growing, to continue to survive against all odds is a most wondrous thing to observe.

Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragement, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak ~ Thomas Carlyle