A photo from the past week; a visual gratitude journal, of sorts. If you have a blog and want to play along at home, please share by linking to your photo in the comments!

 

A dying orchid is kind of a weird thing to be grateful for. Yet, I find myself grateful for it.

I’ve tried to keep orchids alive before. Desperately. I’ve read tomes on the internet and listened to advice from successful orchid growers. I’ve used different watering schedules and even tried that ice cube method. I can’t keep one alive. I just can’t.

But when I saw a beautiful orchid on super sale, I had to buy it even though I knew our time together would be limited. I bought it and I’ve enjoyed it immensely for our two months together. Sure, I tried to keep it alive but previous experiences taught me that was unlikely. Now that it is dying, instead of flagellating myself for being a crapy orchid farmer, I’m thinking — gosh, that was so lovely while it lasted.

“Someone gave me this glass, and I really like this glass. It holds my water admirably and it glistens in the sunlight. I touch it and it rings! One day the wind may blow it off the shelf, or my elbow may knock it from the table. I know this glass is already broken, so I enjoy it incredibly.”
— Achaan Chah Subhaddo (Subato)

You might also like: