The Stuff of Fairy Tales

Someone has described this stunning flower as the stuff of fairy tales.The Diphylleia grayi is a beautiful white flower that turns transparent upon contact with water. When it rains, the clusters of lovely blooms magically transform into glistening, crystal-like blossoms. Because of this amazing phenomenon, the Diphylleia grayi is commonly known as the skeleton flower.

Even the slightest rain shower turns this ordinary looking flower into a glistening, ethereal blossom. This could be a lesson for those who dread the dreariness of rainy days. The reality is that rainy days do come in life, and as the song says, “rainy days and Monday’s always get me down.”  I have a friend that detests rainy days, especially when the rain lasts for several days. It’s depressing to him and often plunges him into a depressive mood called seasonal affective disorder or SAD.

The rain could beat down this amazing flower. Instead, it causes it to become its most beautiful self. Perhaps this is a lesson for us when we’re languishing in life’s stormy, rainy days. Rainy days do come to us, figuratively and literally. Storms can be frightening. Circumstances in life can cause rain and storm as real as a literal deluge. But if we’re mindful and open, the stuff of fairy tales can come to us during those times.

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…It’s about learning to dance in the rain.”
― Vivian Greene