Love and orchids

I am surprised by how expansive a feeling it is. I keep being surprised such that this seems to be a reliable part of the experience. Love opens me up and it is always unexpected. Then, when I feel more open, there are more things able to move me.

The beauty of the wild orchid catches me by surprise, and then the rippling songs of larks flood my heart and then I realise just how big the sky is, and then… and then…

Feeling love changes my relationship with the world. I experience warmth and joy which colours my interactions and perceptions. I have a lot of thoughts about the way each of us is just a tiny fragment of the universe, and that how we experience reality as a whole is very much shaped by those parts nearest to us. That means each of us in turn has the power to choose how to embody the universe, or which bits to embody.

We all have scope to make beauty or delight. When we show each other kindness, this is also the universe speaking. When we choose to embody the qualities of goddesses, heroes, archetypes and ideas, we choose what kind of magic others might be able to find in the world. In each choice, we shape what existence is. Therefore every time we choose warmth, beauty or compassion we’re acting to make that more true of how things really are. It’s a giddy line of thought.

Orchids are easy to love, with their vibrant colours amidst the grasses on the common. It isn’t quite bee orchid season yet, and those are definitely my favourites. Skylarks are easy to love, too, with their joyful and melodious singing. They fly over the common and their song flows down like some kind of blessing or enchantment from on high. It is easy to love the wide open sky and the sweep of the landscape revealed from a hilltop.

Love isn’t something we have to wait for. It isn’t something that can only happen to us in a way beyond our control – we can choose it. Love as a response to life, to living things, to the land and to beauty is something we can all choose to be open to. There’s delight to be had, and open hearted joy.

Wild orchids

My experience of the wheel of the year is not about celebrating festivals. What I most like to engage with are the seasonal events in my local landscape – the timing of which varies somewhat from year to year. Over time, I’ve built up an understanding of how the seasons occur in the local landscape, and there are certain things that are particularly important to me.

One of those things is getting to see the wild orchids. The hill nearest my home usually has a lot of orchids on it at this time of year. I can’t claim any confidence around telling the pinky purple ones apart. I love the bee orchids especially, and I’ve seen half a dozen this year, which is amazing.

The photo doesn’t really do justice to the profusion out there at the moment.