There have been three phases to this painting of Lenten roses (Hellebore).

The first, before I painted, I wrote (in chalk) on the canvas questions of my own heart:

How do I remain open when those around me are closed?
How do I speak from my heart when I know it may burden others?
How do I stay centered when so much is uncertain?
How do I find peace when conflict, fear, and anxiety have become part of this nation's ecosystem?

Then these words tumbled out:

Bloom despite a forecast of storms.
All your blossoms may fall,
but for now the sun is shining. Bloom.

I've been working on this painting since the hellebores were blooming in early spring. I noticed myself hesitating to finish it. 

With very little reflection, I realized that's how I feel about this season of my life. I'm resisting endings (with my oldest about to go to college).

The third phase was putting the final marks on the painting while returning to the prayer I had written months before.

I've also been reading The Wise Heart by Jack Kornfield (highly recommend!), where he shares the teaching of one of his own teachers, Ajahn Chah:

"We are not here just to gain pleasure and avoid pain. No one can do that for very long. We are here to grow in wisdom and compassion, to grow in the path of awakening. Remember this universal truth, and then everything gets easier."

Each painting offers a gift of comfort, hope, understanding. This one offers a reminder that the beauty of life is found not despite its impermanence, but because of it. The goal isn't to avoid difficulty. It's to discover how even this moment can become part of our awakening—an invitation to meet life with greater compassion, deeper wisdom, and a fuller understanding of what it means to love... and to let go.

"Here to Grow"
48" x 30"
(c) Bronwen Mayer Henry
(Acrylic on Canvas)
Edges Painted, Ready to Hang
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