The awareness of choice
January 3, 2009 – 10:34 am
Camellia japonica 'Royal Empress?'
If every day you could consciously choose between being happy or being blue, which would you choose? Of course, most of us would choose to be happy. So why is it that we choose otherwise?
Every time I see this Camellia I am reminded of such choices. You see, this Camellia was growing in the wrong spot when we built our house. It had to be moved. If you know anything about Camellias, you’ll know this is an almost impossible situation. Mature Camellias will die in a skinny minute when moved. This one had everything working against it: we did not prepare the roots, we moved it in the blazing heat of summer and we accidently broke the taproot in the process.
Still, it lived and bloomed that very winter and it has prospered and bloomed every year since, getting stronger and more beautiful each year.
How? The only thing I can surmise is that it made a conscious choice to do so. Perhaps it heard our loving, hopeful intentions and responded. Or maybe it just wanted to beat the odds. Whatever the reason, for me it represents the possibilities of choice.
I think every day can be a choice if you accept it as such. Conscious living is living wide awake and aware of your choices.
