Jacaranda Blue

Rainbows  are all about the colour for me.  The brighter the better.  If I  was to be completely honest when I see a faded one it's kind of a let down.

This week, everywhere I have driven, I've seen  jacaranda tress.  They are in full bloom in my part of the world and so  beautiful.  I grew up with a jacaranda tree in my front yard.  When  we first moved to our house Mum transplanted it from a jam tin and by the  time I was a teenager I could climb it, sit in the branches and 'hide' from  the world.

So this week, while driving, I've been thinking  about that a lot.  

They are beautiful and the colour they splash  across the sky is amazing.  It made me wonder what colour I can splash  into the world?  These trees are naked and bare in winter until spring, when they burst into flowers of vibrant purple. When  the flowers have dropped the tree then offers a thick canopy of shade in the hot summer months. They have their tough days - stripped back and raw to the  elements.  I've had those days too.  And then, as though through a rebirth, their true colour is released, brightening the world around us. When the colour fades the evidence of their growth does not, offering a canopy of lush green leaves allowing all creatures to find comfort in the shade they offer.

I think about how my life can run in seasons like  this; although I move much quicker through the "raw and bare"  stage, thankfully.  Then I am reminded that I have the opportunity to  splash amazing colour into the world too, for others to enjoy.  When the  world is 'dry and dusty' for someone, I can be that contrast in 'colour and  life' that gives hope and joy.  And when my colour feels a little faded,  still I can give comfort for those in my world.  We all can.  

So as I move into  the next week, I do so holding this in the front of my mind.  While I  have these flowering trees to remind me, it should be simple; it's when  they lose their colour and leaves, appearing bland and  uninteresting, I will need to hold tighter to the thought and the  memory.

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