The Little Purple Flower
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“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.”
Henri Matisse
Squint. Can you see it?
I didn’t, but Toddler did. We were walking home. Predictably, I was in a bit of a daze. That’s pretty par for the course these days. Toddler? She skipped along, ahead of me, looking around. And she stopped, bent forward, peered through that rusting fence. And pointed.
Mommy, look! she said. Look at the little purple flower!
I did as told. I looked. And there it was. The little purple flower. I would never have seen it if not for this little girl. My little girl.
What’s interesting, and maybe disconcerting, is that I did notice the fence. I also noticed the speckled patch of soil. I also saw the trash strewn about. But my eyes did not focus on that lone pop of purple, that regal spurt of life. That little flower, alone and lovely? I missed it entirely.
But I didn’t miss it. Because she was there with me. Eager. Alive. Aware. Vision keen. Mind open. Joy profound. With this creature by my side, I saw it. And captured it.
There is a lesson here, isn’t there? That if we look hard enough, if we allow ourselves to, if we come at the world with child-like eyes, we might see them. The bursts of beauty in our days. The tiny flowers in our soils and souls.
Thank you, sweet girl, for seeing.
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Are there things you do not see? Are there people in your life who help you notice things you’d otherwise miss?
So sweet! My kids are fascinated by the way water runs through the gutters into the storm drains. While it is raining. While we are standing outside in the rain, getting wet.
Makes for a whole other perspective on weather.
Wonderful~such a good reminder of the joy of a child, the yanking of the child’s perspective to take us to their wise viewpoint, and the gift of just being with a child. That alone is similar to the little purple flower–a spot of vibrancy and color in our world. Perspective is powerful.
Reading your post I couldn’t help but be reminded of this scene from “The Color Purple”:
Shug: More than anything God love admiration.
Celie: You saying God is vain?
Shug: No, not vain, just wanting to share a good thing. I think it pisses God off when you walk by the colour purple in a field and don’t notice it.
Celie: You saying it just wanna be loved like it say in the bible?
Shug: Yeah, Celie. Everything wanna be loved. Us sing and dance, and holla just wanting to be loved. Look at them trees. Notice how the trees do everything people do to get attention… except walk?
[they laugh]
Shug: Oh Miss Celie, I feels like singing!
Looks like Toddler has it all figured out!
aidan, this reminds me of a post that rebecca woolf of girl’s gone child wrote a while ago… she and her family were taking an afternoon walk and they came across a 3 legged cat. she wrote about how she and her husband instantly took note of the fact that it only had 3 legs. then her son (i think he was 5 at the time) looked at rebecca and said “LOOK AT THAT CAT’S BEAUTIFUL BIG TAIL!!!”
kiddos are amazing. so glad you captured that moment with your sweet girl.
I love the tender and innocent eyes of a child. They are always catching everything, the good and the bad. My daughter, everytime she sees someone smoking a cigarette, she always says, “Momma, they are eating fire. That can’t be good, right?”
I love this … and I adore that quote, which I hadn’t known. And I’m a big believer in looking closely, as you know. Go Toddler! xox
It is one of the humblest, most beautiful things to have a child suddenly gift us a nature moment like this. We found inside one of my father’s notebook a small simple leaf (can’t tell you which tree). We puzzled over it, and then my mother remembered their only grandchild, some 3 years old then, gifting it to her grandpa one day. And he kept it, just like that.
If anyone can make us stop and smell the roses, the simplicity and overwhelming beauty, it’s children.
I’m so happy that you have three of them to gift you these moments
I’m with Gale, it really pisses God off when you walk by the color purple and don’t notice. But thank goodness for Grace and people who help us See.
LOVE that quote. Funnily I was going to post something similar about these sprouting flowers/greenery across the city!
Seeing the world though their eyes is the best
They are pure magic.
So sweet!
Lovely! I appreciate how my kids often make me pause when my eyes (and mind) are not focused upon what’s right in front of my face.
My children, even though much older than yours, are always making me see a different angle to situations – which is great because it makes me stop and think.
I just have to say I love this post. It’s almost spiritual! Don’t we see what we are looking for? You saw the fence and trash. She saw the flower. Children are always looking for the fun, the neat, the beautiful, in everything. As adults we have had enough training in looking for what’s missing, the disappointment, what we want next, what we wish it was,…that we miss the purple flowers!