Today’s blog is a reflection on fleeting beautiful things in nature. Recently I have enjoyed watching local forest change appearance with the season. A blanket of snowdrops seemingly popped up out of nowhere earlier in the year. Shortly after, a host of bluebells sprung up in their place. Both sights were equally beautiful yet fleeting. Not long after their coming, the flowers wilted and gave way to other foliage.
Many humans struggle with the idea of endings, interruptions to continuity. Endings of phases of life, relationships, or even versions of ourselves force us to confront change. Handling change with grace is a challenge for humans in all walks of life. Therefore, I thought it would be nice to reflect and take inspiration from the complete acceptance of change and short-term beauty in nature.
Reframing thoughts about change through nature produces powerful teachings. There are fewer concrete ‘endings’ in nature. There are far more parts of cycles that help to sustain what comes next. Falling leaves don’t signify the end of trees, they shelter and enrich the soil that will support new life down below. Similarly, a sunset would be less captivating if it lasted for days. The limit of something can also help to define its beauty.
This connection with nature is not an original thought. There are many examples where human cultures have embraced and celebrated moments of impermanent beauty in nature.
🌸 Cherry Blossom – Sakura
Cherry trees have deep cultural significance in Japan, representing exquisite beauty and also the fragility of life. Cherry blossoms only typically bloom for about a week. During this time, people gather in large groups to view and appreciate the flowers in a tradition known as ‘hanami’ which translates as ‘flower viewing’.
This time of blossoming marks the arrival of spring and serves as a reminder of the transience of life and importance of cherishing each moment. Despite their short life span, Sakura hold immense cultural significance and capture the attention of many people each year.
🪷 Lotus Flower
The lotus flower, in some similar ways to the cherry blossom, symbolises impermanent beauty in Buddhist teachings. A magnificent flower emerges from the murky depths of mud and pond water. Their beauty is also fleeting, their blossom only lasting for 4-5 days. In appreciating lotus flowers, you have to accept that the blossoms soon fade away. That is their nature, not a mistake or problem. The plant is more than its bloom, a permanent structure that hosts fleeting glimpses of vibrance.
The dharma teaches the truth of Anicca (impermanence). This is the constant change of all things in the universe. The lotus flower illustrates that holding onto worldly pleasures is a source of suffering. By accepting that blossoms, like our own thoughts and experiences, must fade, we learn to practice non-attachment and find peace in letting go.
🦋 Adult Butterflies
My last example today is that of the adult butterfly. Widely adored, butterflies come in all sorts of colours and sizes. Lepidoptera, the order of insects that includes butterflies and moths, first appeared in fossil record around 200 million years. Whilst humans have lived on earth, they have been regarded as spiritual creatures linked to ideas of death and rebirth.
Although a common sight, butterflies have a short adult lifespan of just 3-4 weeks. By the time a butterfly becomes adult, it has already been through three other life phases. Every time you spot a butterfly out and about, it has already transformed three times.
Conclusion:
There is a quiet beauty in the things that don’t last. The moments, seasons, and small lives that pass almost as soon as we notice them should remind us to appreciate the present. These things aren’t designed to endure long periods of time, but that doesn’t diminish their beauty or importance.
If you’re feeling down or unsettled by change or ‘ending’ in your life, perhaps try to look at it another way. Endings can be seen as one part of a wider cycle of change that will bring beauty in other ways in future. Just as with cherry blossom that falls or lotus flowers that wilt, there is beauty to be found in things that end.
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