Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Mystery solved

Shall I reveal what I discovered, or leave it as a mystery?
I can't resist telling you.
Yesterday I was helping with a Retreat Day, called Setting the Compass (for the new year). It was held in a beautifully renovated church hall, and I had been invited to create a ritual as part of the day. As I wandered around outside, getting the feel of the garden and how it might be used, what should I find but another beautiful 'boat', undulating like a little wave, there on the path. And just like the ones I found when I did my Tai Chi by the sea, it had captured some little shafts that I realised were stamens.
'I wonder where this one has come from?', and then I looked up and saw this beauty: a frosted flower with a vibrant curl of luscious petal, about to fall. 'It's a palm tree!'
But not just any palm tree. I looked up further, and look at this: several rows of cheeky little green bananas, perkily lifting to the sky above, seeking out the sun.
I did rather like to think of the fronds as little boats, that had mysteriously sailed in on the wind and rain. But the truth has equal charm: the flower petals of the banana palm, flying freely down to earth: banana boats, perhaps?
As I contemplated setting my compass for 2012, sailing lightly and imaginatively somehow became part of it.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

You must be smiling, Juliet, as you set sail upon your banana boat of discovery. These have been such lovely posts.

Lynley said...

Ah ha....bananas. Synchronicity strongly at play here for you Juliet.....perfect.

I love the notion of Setting my compass as a new year begins. It has more flow to it than setting Resolutions.

Thank you for posting the "answer" - I was intrigued!

Juliet said...

Penny, I am smiling indeed on my 'banana boat of discovery', as you so beautifully put it. Thank you for joining me on this adventure.
Lynley, yes you were pretty close, and it was nice to discover the answer in such a serendipitous way. Setting the compass allows for adjustments, unlike those rigid resolutions.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Juliet .. it is such a great colour - and I love how some leaves just waxily shine .. your description giving the little boat a story ..

Shining away on the glossy sea to lands that bananas know - dreams for us too .. cheers Hilary

Juliet said...

Hi Hilary, I can imagine a Hilary blog on this, sailing away to banana lands, and then unearthing all sorts of gems about bananas, Harry Belafonte, boats - you get the gist, I'm sure. Waxily shine - that's a great phrase. Thanks for visiting.