Like a Bouquet


Recently, while I looked at my print of Van Gogh’s Twelve Sunflowers in a Vase, I realized that I was like that bouquet. It’s hung in my home for many years, but I saw it in a new way. I noticed that one of the flowers droops down. Another tilts down partway. Some look straight out at the viewer, and several stand tall in the vase.

My shortcomings are my flower parts that droop down. They include my tendency to overdo and get unrealistically fearful. When I do either of these behaviors, I feel down, and my mood symbolically drops. Other traits trouble me sometimes, such as depriving myself of items. One of my life lessons is to give myself the best to the degree that it’s financially manageable, and to know that I am worth it.

The parts of me that stare straight out to the world are my typical traits of being friendly, disciplined, and committed to lifelong growth and learning. The flowers within me that stand up the most are my greatest assets, such as my communication skills, creativity, resourcefulness, various interests, healthy lifestyle, sense of humor, intelligence, perseverance, tenacity, optimism, and faith. My faith is the basis of my life, and when I live full-out following God, the bouquet of me shines at its brightest.

Van Gogh was a painter of great energy, emotion, and beauty. His paintings of sunflowers show the varied parts of the bouquet and reflect the diverse parts of man. They’re both beautiful in their fullness and variation. They’re testament to the genius of the artist and the greatest creator of all – God.

The world is filled with masterpieces hanging in museums and walking around the world. The cost for Van Gogh’s paintings comes with a dollar sign, but the worth of man is priceless. God’s love and light shines over and nourishes nature and man. All parts of the bouquet and man are loveable expressions of God’s divine creativity. May we all bloom at our finest, sometimes drooping, sometimes shining, each adding our own beauty and fragrance to the world. It all makes for a sweet-smelling world.

 

Image: Photo of print of Twelve Sunflowers in a Vase by Van Gogh.

Print reference: The Modern Masters Collection. Published & Distributed by Icon (44) 1242 262331. Bridgeman Art Library, London. Twelve Sunflowers in a Vase, 1888. Neue Pinakothek, Munich. FAM 1077. Printed in Great Britain.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Message of the Tipping Tree

Image
Two tall and thin trees grace the view outside my living room window. One grows straight up, and the other tips to the right. It curves at the top and looks like the tree version of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I’ve lived here for eighteen years, and it’s never fallen. If I tipped to the right for many years, I may have tired out and tipped all the way over, but the tree still stands strong. Why is that?  I realize that I’m only seeing part of the story. The tree has many deep roots in the ground below, which anchor it strong and steady in the earth. Perhaps the tree tips because it’s weathered many wind and rain storms. Overtime, those forces could’ve tipped it to the right. The wind often comes here from the ocean toward the tree, so it could’ve pushed it over some. The tree next to it may be straight because the tipping tree protects it from the offshore breeze. Why does the tipping tree speak to me so much? It’s because I am like the tipping tree. The tipping tree is not perfect ...
Read more

The Golden Egg

Image
  When I as a child, one of my family’s Easter traditions was for my brother and I to look for the “Golden Egg.” We first looked for eggs to fill our Easter baskets, and then the hunt was on for the biggest treasure – the Golden Egg. What would be inside? Chocolates? See’s Candy? A chocolate bunny? It was always a mystery what the Easter bunny, also known as, mom and dad, hid. One morning, when I found it, the egg was hidden in the washer’s cooling vent that opened outside and had a tiny covering where the treasure lay. My gift? Five dollars! In the early 1970s, $5 was a good amount of money for a child. It’s equivalent to about $37 in 2023. It felt like a fortune to me. I don’t remember what I did with the money, but I remember the fun of looking for it and my surprise and delight when I found it. I still remember what I was wearing - white jeans with a short-sleeved pastel pink shirt with flowers on the front. After the treasure hunt, my family went to Disneyland in our new, ye...
Read more

The Unique in Me/The Unique in You

Image
I was always different. Instead of what most people liked, I liked something else. Instead of chocolate sundaes, I liked butterscotch. Instead of maple syrup, I liked blueberry, and instead of Coke or Pepsi, I liked root beer. As I got older, I liked art and none of the rest of my family did. I wanted to travel and see the world, and my mom was happy staying home. As an adult, I like writing and am a great observer. When I travel, I write in the Notes or Google Docs App in my phone every day. I use voice recognition and speak as I traverse various places. I want to capture my thoughts and feelings at the moment that I have them. When I get home, I write a trip diary. Some, I just keep as a souvenir for me, and others, I expand into a book. It’s my way of sharing what I learned to educate others about the people and culture I visited and to inspire others to do their dreams. Traveling is one of my dreams, and I hope that in seeing me do my dreams, it encourages others to do theirs. On...
Read more