My daughter Rebekah has loved peonies for many years and although they are quite expensive, I like to buy her a few bunches in their short season.
The other week I bought her a gorgeous salmon pink bunch and thought they looked wonderful. After about two days some of the full buds started to open, but not before they had changed - now deep cream and magenta at their base and full of the bright, golden, yellow centres. They had changed in appearance but were still quite stunning and they had not been dyed. A few more days, they were completely ivory/white, with just a hint of pink and the insides a soft yellow. They looked very delicate now and the petals almost wax like, but the perfume was lovely and they gave us all lots of pleasure for about ten days.
We have tried to record this change by photographs and so you can see how they were from day one onwards.
This reminded me how we all change, maybe even many times in a day, depending on how we are and how we feel. We are still just as attractive, still even beautiful, but like the peonies reveal different bits of our makeup. We are still as strong but maybe because of circumstances other parts of of nature are more visible than at other times. Sometimes we do not feel as strong or capable, and physically we can change too, though when fully in touch with our inner beings we can change back again, just like the ever-changing peonies.
Here is another poem from Nikita Gill which speaks powerfully of this change within us. Remember wherever you are today, dragon or lamb, you are loved and cherished for who you are - you are beautiful!
