Together in Bloom

I am married to a gentleman who grows with me.  A tenderhearted soul who reminds me with his everyday actions of what really matters in life.

This gentle man, my life companion, took my breath away today — he arrived home with a magnificent bunch of my favorite flowers.  An abundant spray of French tulips, hydrangeas, ranunculus, and orchids were given to me bound tightly together. They present a remarkable cluster of coloration, and individually they exhibit their own unique splendor.

The bouquet of beauty he offered symbolized something deeper and greater.  His gesture gave me such pleasure it caused me to pause and acknowledge an interesting analogy.  This random act of kindheartedness, especially because it came with flowers, made me reflect in an abstract manner how our life together is similar to the life patterns of a plant.  I have always admired the process of life and living.  My husband’s act of affection provided an opportunity for me to explore that admiration further.  As I sat and stared into the magnificence of the flowers, my inquisitiveness wanted a deeper discussion.

My thoughts became as vibrant as the medley of blooms tucked together inside the container.  I surmised that each period in our partnership has passed through and embodied a different stage of evolution.  The delicate transformations that gradually occur in nature also happen in our relationship.

Allow me to explain.

My husband and I attempt every day to enrich each other, similar to how a seed must germinate in order for a plant to gradually emerge.

Our intent as companions is to grow and expand.  We have shared eighteen years together and our objective has always been to flourish.  When our environments mingled together, we communicated to each other our desire to be together.  In time, we each produced a copy of our genetic material in our two sons.  This is also an essential stage for a plant — to reproduce through fertilization, which creates new seeds for future growth.

Likewise, my partner and I have continued to evolve into different beings with similar fundamentals.  As we age, the goal is to have lived our lives to the fullest, individually & together, with no regrets.  Always awakening towards the sun, and retreating to each other for comfort and warmth in the evening.  My life companion anchors me like the root system anchors the flower against the wind.  He has helped bring back to life a wilted flower attempting to withstand the outside forces.  Our love has learned to sustain the winds and storms in life just as the flowers and trees stand against the gusts and gales of nature.

As we remain entwined, I feel each season in our union has been nourished.  We locate and gather the proper nutrients to enter our system, and continue the growth cycle.

Structurally, we are the same people as we used to be, but we have stretched our perspectives and knowledge base together through admiration and adaptability.  There must be constant fertilization and scattering of sunshine and rain along the way.  It takes sunshine and rain to continue the course through our blooming cycle.  Without both we would only be able to sit to the side and watch our union shrivel up and never blossom again.

I need to write him a thank you note for bringing me flowers.  He must know how much I appreciate his gesture.  As well, I must say the following to the world:

This man understands me.  I understand him.  All our past frustrations, pains and discontents subside when we open up to the sunshine that radiates all the way to our roots.

His feeling of warmth calms me and my irrational reasoning and balance. 

In his existence, there is a gentle and tranquil breeze. 

I am confident this man will walk through life by my side.  He loves me for all that I am . . . despite all that I am. 

He likes my messy mind. 

He adores my magical moments. 

This man encourages my curiosity. 

Frequently, he understands my wants and needs, better than I do. 

His intuitive sixth sense is able to untangle my tangled root system. 

He finds sensibility in my unusual scenarios. 

This amazing individual sees the greater picture of my unique landscape and appreciates the beauty it exudes, even when I cannot. 

He continues to help me find ways of exploring the outside world and the world inside myself. 

We both have realized that, to admire and emerge as a flower, each person must let each other be their own flower and then, even though surrounded by the weeds of the world, it will remain a lovely flower.  This fruition in bloom, is an experience that alone is doable, but together is better.

Yes, I am beaming. Yes, I am blessed.  Yes, I will continue to bud and blossom in every growing season of our togetherness.

What more is there to want in this life cycle?

 

Published at Life As A Human July 2015 http://lifeasahuman.com/2015/relationships/together-in-bloom/

© 2015 Shannon Hogan Cohen

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