Yesterday I began the day with an hour bike ride. There is a biking and walking trail near my home. It leads up through houses and neighborhoods. And eventually to the mouth of a nearby canyon. I suppose I wanted and needed meandering yesterday. And more direct connection with some of this landscape in which I live.
Yesterday, as part of that bike ride, I saw this thistle. It stands about four feet tall. As you can see, it has many purple blossoms. This particular thistle is in an undeveloped lot, near some apartments. I suppose it is the thistle’s natural persistence that catches my attention. It struck me as beautiful, growing in the excess heat and drought that is this summer where I live.
It’s just a simple bike ride. It’s just a simple thistle. Ordinary things. Yet, when welcomed, the extraordinary has a way of showing up. The extraordinary of some inner impression and awareness blossoming. I suppose there is something in many of us that relishes the meandering, the connection with our geography, the persistence, and the natural beauty.
Yup, that ordinary might just be enough to guide today. With thanks to the thistle.