Verbena Bee

I’m discovering every session of horticultural therapy holds promise for small or significant awakening. There’s never a direct path but rather a circuitous series of gentle openings for connecting us. I never know until I see it unfold. Every time a little different. Today it caught me by surprise.

There’s become a core group of ladies returning for every session along with a few first time attendees. This keeps our chemistry changing as we all morph together for the shared experience. As we settle in together for making bouquets I often start with a beautiful question to start engaging. Today was no different. I asked about feeling lucky and it went from there.

Bouquets were coming together rather quickly so to keep the group focused I improvised with adding music. We landed on the Beatles. As the music began playing “Good Day Sunshine,” faces truly lit up. Most knew the music by heart and sang along. The ladies sat in a semicircle with their completed bouquets directly in front of them. Under the tables feet began to tap. One lady with a cane began tapping and lifting her legs up and down, as if she were riding a horse. Her face was beaming from behind her flowers. Another was using her entire body dancing like a trained ballerina.

Transported by the music, I watched as some closed their eyes and blissfully smiled. Singing, tapping, dancing, smelling their flowers, caressing the blooms. All the senses waking up and enlivened. The room was full of youthful joy and delight. My tears began as I looked from one beautiful face beaming at me and then the next. We were all experiencing this together like a group of teenagers at a Beatles rock concert. I was feeling lucky.

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