Mill Drain

Greenhouse Beauties

These bell shaped flowers fascinated me.  They were growing from a tropical plant in the greenhouses at UNCC.  The main part of the plant was full of stems but not densely formed.   The buds look like fragile single colored balloons and then they appear to open and variate in color.   A male pollen stem descends from  the balloon's center with female receptors all around the center stem.  Seeds then form as insects transfer pollen from the male to female appendages .  The seeds then drop off with the help of gravity making the plant hardier and more dense with time.

Yellow Berries

I have never seen such beautiful yellow berries before.  I am not certain of the plant variety but could not take my eyes off of these unusual stems flowing on the breeze of the day.  There were birds all around the periphery of this plant but I never saw one take one and eat it!  I spent about 15 minutes just watching and the birds would approach and then turn away as if they were disappointed that the treasure they thought they had found was just a frustration....

Water, Rock, Earth and Leaf

It was a cold, windy and overcast day today.  I went out in search of a picture that spoke to me and this is the best expression I could shoot.  It is a snap shot of the season impacting the water and earth  that constitute the substance of this small creek. Winding through the botanical gardens at UNCC, this stream is filled with leaves and debris that have fallen from the trees overhead.  In some places the flow of water was completely stifled and forced to overflow its normal boundaries in search of a path with less resistance. It made me think how much like water people can be.  We have a compelling need to move onward and when we are opposed our first response is to go around whatever is obstructing our path even if it means we leave our natural path of flow.  Water is a powerful force of energy and can profoundly impact its environment.    It is the only element I can find in scripture that had it origin in Heaven above and was divided but not created in the creation story.  Makes me think that some of the drives in us may be similar.  Just something to think about.

A Hope and a Future

I think I finally understand the scripture in Jeremiah 29:11 when we are given the promise of a hope and a future.  When we are promised that we will be prospered  that prosperity is not a promise that comes in the form of any physical kind of possession but rather in a relationship with our heritage of life.  That heritage is expressed in the generation of children we raise in the wisdom and compassionate instruction of Torah.

Perspective

Perspective can be defined as a vantage or it can be used to define a relationship of an object with its surroundings.  This picture made me think about perspective in my life.  This building top is readily viewed at eye level on the UNC Charlotte campus from the entrance of the Bonnie Cone Center.  It is a long descent from this place to the doors of the buildings entrance.   This building is the home of the College of Health and Human services.  Perspective changes everything in the context of reality.  It would seem this building was close by but once you study the references you begin to understand the perspective it frames.  The tree tops the lamp post the clouds and sky all give clues but the walking reality is quite a different experience.  There is a torrent of construction chaos just outside view that must be navigated to reach this building and from this perspective you are clueless.  A long detour winds around through multiple staircases and walkways in order for one to arrive at its entrance.  Perspective would suggest that this is quite a different journey.    This lesson has given me reason to pause and reflect about so many things going on around me right now and I have to wonder about our perspectives.

Milestones

Everyday since June 5th I have put the milestones of my actions and thoughts from the wooden bowl made of acacia wood into the transparent glass container as I have deemed appropriate for the events of my day.  I have used this exercise to take some time for reflection on my choices and to put to rest my deeds and thoughts for that day.  I have used the glass marbles to frame daily events and  then close them in the past. This is an exercise suggest by my Rabbi for this season of my life.  It has been very helpful and theraputic to my soul.  As weeks have turned into months I am realizing the significance of such an exercise over the course of time.  It helps me daily to live fully in my actions, to strive to do the best I can and yet if the day has been a heart wrenching disaster or painful failure I can still  lay it to rest recognizing it for what it was without carrying it into the future.  While I hope and pray the ordeal will be over soon as long as it lasts, I am thankful for this process and the rest it brings me between Sabbath rests.