The bird of paradise bush in front of my home was blooming with the most incredible flowers, and I just had to stop and admire them. As I was looking closely at one of the flowers, I was thinking that it couldn’t be more perfect.
I have always had an appreciation of nature. I can’t help but see the beauty reflected in the plants and trees that surround me, even in the big city of Los Angeles, where I work. Since I’m in a visually creative business, I often am amazed at the stunning natural compositions that nature makes so effortlessly. I’ve studied for years how to create visuals that approximate the genius I see in a flower or a grouping of branches in a tree.
I remember as a child thinking that God must be providing me with beautiful things to look at just because of God’s love for me. I couldn’t think of any other reason, and I still can’t.
But this day was different. Looking at the bird of paradise bush, I realized that I was also created for the same reason. What a shock that was! I’ve been so accustomed to being seen as less than perfect all my life that it never occurred to me that I have the same spiritual origin as that perfect blossom, the expression of divine Love. Wow! I began to realize that I had bought into a bunch of false and depressing beliefs about myself, which I thought were normal.
Since this realization, what is becoming normal to me now is that the idea, “it couldn’t be more perfect,” should be applied not only to the nature I see around me, but to all of the creatures as well, and all mankind—including myself. I am also beginning to grasp the truth that the love that God expresses in all of us is effortless.
