Cloudy and cold.
I don’t mind the clouds — would not mind the rain, were we to get any today — but now that May is on the wane, everyone is weary of the cold.
Fortunately, the wildflowers here are hardy, and have much to teach us about resilience in bloom.
The lilacs are a case in point: They began to blossom a scant two mornings ago, and since that moment, we have had sub-freezing temperatures, gale-force winds (with rotation), and even snow. And yet, their purple petals this morning have only seemed to intensify in color as they move softly in what is for the moment still only a breeze.
The dandelions, of course, can survive nearly any conditions, temporarily. They have bloomed so many weeks now that we have a roughly even mix of new golden flowers and wispy white puffballs. The tulips, of course, being neither wild not indigenous, fare less well, but they, too, persist despite the chill.
And soon, it will be time to plant again; we need only outlast this temporary cold to bring the world into flower again.
Today’s featured work, one of Wings’s newest, embodies both process and result — flowering worlds, in name, form, and spirit alike. From their description in the Earrings Gallery here on the site:
Flowering Worlds Earrings
Summer brings us the gift of flowering worlds, alive and fertile and awash in petaled light. Wings evokes orbs and blossoms both with these dynamic earrings, near-perfect spheres hand-milled in a profusion of wild blooms. Each dangling drop is formed from a bold sterling silver concha, ever so slightly oval in shape and fully three-dimensional half-spheres. Each concha is milled in a vibrant wildflower pattern reminiscent of ’60s “flower power” motifs, each flowing petal rising in sharp relief. The earrings are domed, repoussé-fashion, to provide extraordinary depth; delicate holes hand-drilled at the top hold sterling silver wires. Earrings hang 1-15/16″ long by 1-7/8″ across, excluding wires (dimensions approximate).
Sterling silver
$475 + shipping, handling, and insurance
Humanity — at least parts of it — tends to get discouraged easily. One of the most pernicious aspects of colonialism is the extent to which its reliance on brute force poisons perceptions of process: It leads those who partake in it to believe that everything can be controlled — more, that everything can be forced, and fast. It relies upon a human-centric worldview (-centric to specific categories of humans) that dismisses all other aspects of life, including the natural world and cosmic forces, as subservient to human will.
The Earth is not subservient . . . and she is increasingly letting us all know the truth of it.
But much of existence lives and grows not beneath the depredations of brute force but in the immanence of process, and process takes time. It requires us to endure setbacks and moments of stasis, to adapt to changed conditions and find ways over, under, around, or through obstacles. it requires evolution, in thinking and in being. It requires a commitment to the long view, and a persistence in the work required to achieve it.
There are no shortcuts, particularly not in world poisoned by colonial harm. There is no beauty and no grace in abandoning the work, no glory in quitting when results do not materialize on our timetable. We must be resilient: We have future generations to protect.
It is our obligation to bring the world into flower for them, too.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.
