Flower Power

And Spanish Imagination

I was speaking with my Spanish tutor in Cochabamba this past week about the magic qualities of flowers. Starting with the abundance of lilacs that explode in the spring along the side roads of Prince Edward County. Every road you travel is suddenly lined with an abundance of purple and white lilacs that thrill the soul. The Spanish describe lilacs (las lilas) using the charming language of “a unique and sweet aroma that perfumes the kitchens of our grandmothers.”

Then we turned to the beauty of the sunflowers. My friend pointed out that in castellano sunflowers are called girasoles, which literally means “turning towards the sun” (gira - to turn; sol - sun). Girasoles capture the subtle movements of the flower turning and reaching up to absorb the energy radiating from the sun to planet earth.

And there are the pansies which also share the smiling personality of its grander floral friend. Pansies in Spanish are called pensamientos which translates in English to thoughts. How cool is that! Every pansy carrying its own thought and wanting to share it with you if you snuggle up close enough to listen.

Jesus himself encourages us to look and to listen to the flowers of the fields as an antidote to such things as anxiety,

And why do you worry…consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these…” (MT 6:28-29)

If flowers in the field can help us overcome our worries, then what other obstacles could we overcome through listening to the voices of our flower friends?

I suggest that one intimation from our trilogy of lilacs, sunflowers, and pansies is their “zest for living” or “zest for life,” as Teilhard muses in his book Activation of Living. Our blooming friends understand perfectly that their moment in the sun is short so they better let their glory shine forth! No holding back—just the untarnished joy of zestful, imaginative expression.

To grab our moments under the sun regardless of the obstacles we face. A zest for our world expressed in a “rock-bottom will” to make our unknown known. A lesson from the sweet smelling lilacs, the smiling sunflowers and the pensive pansies.