There doesn’t seem to be very many options of house plants to choose from in the winter, but I came across a few while at Trader Joe’s. I was immediately intrigued by this simple tree that stood about 14 inches tall that had no leaves nor buds, and its branches looked like naked weeping twigs. I read its manual to discover it was a Pussy Willow and since I have a brown thumb that could easily kill a cactus, I read on.
Apparently the weeping pussy willow is among the most graceful of trees and the manual stated it symbolized all that is feminine-dreaming, intuition, emotion, enchantment, healing, and revitalization. Supposedly the willow has long since been recognized as a sacred tree by poets, philosophers, and religious leaders because of the flexibility of its twigs; symbolizing resilience and inspiring us to move with life.
Its symbolic meaning resonated something beautiful within me. I wanted to look at that willow tree every day to remind and inspire me of the very things it represented. I picked up and admired each willow to find the one I really wanted, but when I finally chose one, I was seduced by the tallest and most radiant orchid that would be absolutely perfect for my room! I exchanged the pussy willow and went through another selection process to find the best orchid.
I found my orchid and compared it to the willow that represented so much depth. After asking myself, “Would I rather have depth or beauty?” The orchid quickly found itself back on the shelf because I already knew the answer. For the essence of depth is far more beautiful than the sake of beauty itself.
You, my dear, are an orchid growing on a pussy willow branch. Rare, yes! But oh, so beautiful with all of the depth and flexibility required to keep growing strong. I love you!
I adore you aunt Jeannie! You have always been a pilar of strength, beauty, and gentleness to me!
Excellent post! I’m glad you posted the link because you wrote this before I started following your blog.