bloom

A wilted petal does not define a flower. Its beauty remains intact. Recently I had a most curious experience. I was sitting there, listening to a friend of mine play music at my house, when suddenly I was overcome with a creeping headache. I shifted all of my attention to this pain – unfurling like a scroll a list of questions. I began to obsess. Was this headache a mark of poor health? What if I am not treating myself right, will others notice? There was no good to come of this tangent of thought, but there I was, paralyzed by the electricity of my unfounded skepticism. Yet I stayed with the pain, and I began to ask a question of my intention – has this overtaken me? Does it have complete agency over my entire body and my mind? I replied with an internalized “no.” The agreement between th...