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The Profundity of Tulips and Toilets

Posted by Barbara Lynn Cantone on March 21, 2011 0 Comments

Did you hear that winter’s over?
The basil and the carnations cannot control their laughter. ~ Rumi

Spring is a time of change in NYC.

On Friday it was 70 degrees and sunny. Today it is raining with a high of 40. Sunny and warmer again tomorrow. By Wednesday, the forecast calls for snow. But despite it all, the tulip buds continue to blossom and the two mourning doves that make their home near my apartment each spring continue their frequent visits to my window. 

It just so happens that I am going through some climate changes of my own. In my personal life. In my business. (More on that to come in future posts.) Most of it is very exciting. A lot of it is very scary. All of it is resulting in violent fluctuations in my emotions--excited, scared, joyful, sad, angry--that seem all too often to reflect the change in the weather outside.

Last Friday, despite the sun and warmth, my inner person was one big storm. I felt the anxiety of the coming life changes stomping all over whatever tulips may have been blooming in my heart. So I took advantage of my afternoon off to check out a spa/salon in midtown. (As many of you know, I sometimes check out other wellness centers, spas, salons, etc., to see what kind of wonderful things other practitioners bring to the table.) 

The salon and the staff were fantastic and just being with people who so obviously cared about what they do made me feel better. But the highlight of my visit came when I used the restroom. Because that's where I saw this:

It may seem absurd, but the silliness of this image made my life fall into perspective once again.

Although the answers to my pending questions about life and work haven't yet presented themselves, I'm open to what change may come. I desire growth and the laughter of the basil and that carnations. And that, for now, is enough.