I drove into the gas station to have the car filled up (yeah, we Jersey girls don’t pump gas). Upon leaving, I noticed before me a little flower sticking out of a long, narrow metal pole in the ground. I didn’t have time to stop the car upon first glance due to the trafficked nature of the lot. The image of lilac opened buds stood fresh in my mind after clearing the area. “What WAS that? How did that happen? Who placed the faux flowers there?” I smiled. This “tree” was art and a creation of an artist at this gas station. I still smile. The next go ’round to get gas I made sure to take a photo of it if it were still standing there. It was! (laugh) “Why,” might you ask, “are you blogging about an artificial tree?” Simple: We create magnificence in simplicity. We can create uplifts from available found objects in our reality. Our creations not only support ourselves, but others, as well.
The “flower tree” stands in Watchung, New Jersey on Route 22 East at the Sunoco gas station. If you drive slow enough, you will catch a glimpse of this “lit” tower. I believe the plastic flower is that of lilac. Do you watch for uplifting symbols in your reality created by others? I suggest turning on that switch so that you may be shown others’ creations. If you are a creator being of this kind, you already see others’ works, for you create them for the collective, as well as for yourself. They are everywhere! If you haven’t yet found symbols and other forms of expressive art, you may begin today.
(In Warren, New Jersey, someone added one word above their mailbox number: Area. The mailbox reads: Area 53 (This is a reference to Area 51.) All it took was one word. I smile each time I pass their property.)
My mind meanders to Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl. The scene that moved me was the rose — the rose that he focused on in order to get through his ordeal. It stood there — an object that Nature provided as creatively as the person who offered up the “flower tree” — for this man’s succor. Uplifts are replete in our landscape; Nature offers us visions of Hope if we see them. We, too, can create objects of beauty for our healing and for others.
The “flower tree” is not the same as the rose seen in the camp that Frankl sat in. It is, however, a symbol of Life and Hope that can be found in a place of solitude, hurriedness, and congestion. The creator being that offered the rose-in-the-camp-as-the-flower-tree may not have realized that their placement of a faux lilac bud atop a narrow pole on Route 22 East might offer a moment of uplift for another. I will not attempt to express what Nature provided for Frankl. Je ne sais quoi. It can be found within his soul for him to share with us. Any interpretation on my behalf would not do him justice.
Today, I purposely park at the gas station in front of the “flower tree” so I may bid it hello and farewell during my short stay.
Please consider making “trees” for yourself and others. Consider seeking out natural and collective-driven creations, as well. Heal and be healed.
Bless you,
~Joanie
