Perfect Poise, Perfect Life
Bring your body into balance and revolutionise your life
By Noel Kingsley
Publisher Hodder Mobius
AVAILABLE HERE
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Lucky tulips
'Tulipa', by John Blakemore
It's that time of year again....when the wind blows, the clouds scud across the sky, fierce squalls of rain soak you then the sun come out. It is also the season for tulips and how welcome they are.
A well known master photographer who specialises in traditional monochrome photography, John Blakemore titled a long series of his art photographs 'Tulipomania'. Over a lengthy period of time he photographed them in their budding phase, blooming phase, then wandering and bedraggled phase, their disintegration and their demise. His obsession was not with the tulips as such, but what they did, how they changed and brought about this wonderful series of prints where the combined effect of all of them is greater than the sum of the individual prints. This series has synergy. And I can well understand his obsessive fondness. They are beautiful in all their phases...even as scattered and wilting petals.
So now on the windowsill of my clinic stand some beautiful yellow tulips, bursting with upward energy in anticipation of their full bloom. And when I say 'stand', they truly are standing to attention. I learnt a tip to keep them upright from a friendly stall holder. If you want to know that tip, see my previous blog.
But wilt they will, eventually, but not after growing at least two inches in the vase. Have you noticed how they come up in height even when cut? I watch their heads soar upwards towards the bottom of the window blind that's pulled half down. And then they sway, with lyrical abandon as nature reassembles them in ever changing configurations. They last a good week and then I hurry to buy another lot.....as the tulip season is so short, one just has to take advantage of their brief but poetic presence.
They are yellow tulips. I often get yellow as this colour seems to bring me good luck. One year I went through a phase of getting white lilies. They look tremendous and as long as their pollen stamens are removed they won't stain your clothes if you brush past them. But I wondered why my business was quiet and so many things seemed to be going wrong. It was then that I discovered that the white lily in France is associated with death....particularly the death of a child. So I stopped buying them. Instead I got yellow chrysanthemums, yellow daisies and yellow tulips when they are in season. Sometimes they would be white and that was OK. but mostly yellow and back came the good luck. The phone would ring, I would meet exciting new people, fortuitous events would occur as regularly as if it was the norm. And it is.
So, blessed is my Alexander Technique practice room, graced by the presence of such gentle spirits. They will absorb my fond attention for the next week as they proudly display their full glory, spreading themselves in quiet exuberant style.
:-)
