Naked Ladies

Naked Ladies are blooming, all soft and pink and odalisque. Lycoris is in the amaryllis family, and like amaryllis, it shoots up a bare stalk of glorious trumpet flowers.

Unlike amaryllis, the leaves appear first--in the spring--then die back. In August, just as i've completely forgotten them, here they are, trumpeting their glorious arrival.

Once in a while, meditation feels like this. We put all this effort into green leaves, but after a while, maybe we forget to meditate.

Suddenly, one day we are surprised when the kindness or calmness of meditation blooms, right in the middle of a heated discussion.

It's a good thing to plant meditation in our lives every day.