One of the tips in 55 WAYS TO SHOW LOVE is showing “loyalty and devotion.” The phrase kept running around in my head, particularly when I saw a Phalaenopsis Orchid plant once again blooming on a table in my screened-in patio.
A couple of times a year, seemingly out of nowhere, I suddenly notice a bud. I may pay attention to it, then I forget it for a few days, being pleasantly surprised when I see the flowers. It’s a plant I water when I think of it and in the past few times of bloom, three flowers showed up, now two.
This particular orchid plant was one of four I bought one day on the way home from the cemetery, several months after my beloved husband Sam died. One plant is gone and two others are still putting out roots, though they’ve never bloomed after that first round. They’ve never been fed, other than occasional water. With it all, this one especially is loyal to me, blooming in its cycle, no matter what.
Then there is the Maranta (“Prayer”) plant that I’ve had for over 40 years in one form or another. I’ve written about it in my Picture to Ponder ezine a few times and did again this past week in relation to “loyalty and devotion, posting it on Photography and Transformation. I’m labeling the Maranta, “devoted” given the amount of time it has been with me. It’s grown again, way beyond the point when, insect-infected, I “discarded it” in my backyard as I raced off on a trip. It, too, resides on a bookcase in my patio. Again, the only “food” this plant has ever had is water. Oftentimes it’s gone through dry spells and pieces have died off because I’ve taken it for granted and not remembered to water it.
So, how does this all fit here on Love With No Regrets? My behaviors in relation to these plants have a resemblance to how I was, at times, with Sam, taking him for granted, assuming his love and many times not acknowledging him and it. I was blessed that he was there for me no matter what (as these plants are), loving me with no expectations of anything other than my being there. Now that he is gone, I am fortunate to be blessed to have had all the communication we did have, his photos and writing and much more. I can call on these when “regrets” for what wasn’t comes up.
What about you? Do you remember to acknowledge your parter and the people in your life? Are you sure that everything you want to say has been said? Do you and your partner each have a body of tangible, great memories that you can “hold” should something happen to either one of you?
If you have any questions around this, I invite you to email me – Sheila [at] LoveWithNoRegrets.com – to explore this in a 1/2 hour complimentary “ReInvent Your Love” session.
