Look at me!

The Rev. Gayanne Frater

14 March 2014

Look at me!

 

A flash of colour seen
Attention captured.
I turned and gazed.
Gurgles of delight bubbling upwards,
held captive
to keep faith with others on holy retreat.
This flower,
bigger,
louder,
brighter
than its siblings
shouts her presence to the world.
Look at me!
See me!
Attend to me!
So I stood still
attending to her beauty,
marvelling at her fearless audacity
to be 'more than'.
And felt sheer unadulterated delight,
until it broke through my self-imposed repression
and disturbed the holy silence.
 
As silence descended,
settling as softly as a blanket on a sleeping child,
questions shimmered across this still heart,  
How come it is so easy to delight in the
stunning distinctiveness,  
outrageous beauty,
exquisite simplicity
of this flower,
but so difficult to rejoice in
our brothers and sisters who are
just as loud,
proud,
and demanding
of careful, prayerful attention?
When did demure reticence became so highly valued?
 
[Photograph & words by Gayanne Frater 24 January 2014
Reflections from a January retreat 2014]