A highlight of the sightseeing portion of the trip was a visit to the Keukenhof Gardens. If you ever visit Holland in April/May, it is a must-see.
When we stepped into the gates and saw tulips in full bloom, we exclaimed, “At last, tulips in all their glory! Yay!” Hot houses and extra care from flower experts produced spectacular scenes that couldn’t help but arrest anyone’s attention and generate wonder and awe.
 |
| A garden preparing for spring |
 |
| A stroll through Keukenhof |
 |
| The colorful bells |
The picturesque gardens, surprising splashes of color, bright reds, yellows and oranges that bolted out from the green terrain grabbing attention and stopping people in their steps, were everywhere.
As I stood in the midst of all this beauty and horticultural wonder, I started to feel uncomfortable. I thought about all the scenes in the world that looked quite the opposite: the ghettos, the slums, the war-torn towns and communities where there is not a flower or even morsel of beauty to be seen to the physical eye. How could I enjoy this when there is so much to the contrary in the world?
After a moral struggle, I heard, “Enjoy the beauty you see, learn from it, and take it to the world.”
Yep, that was it. The creators of the Keukenhof Gardens had caught a glimpse of divine beauty that they wanted to share with the world in a form they understood and knew how to demonstrate. And it was awe-inspiring.
Yes, it was temporal. The flowers would soon be gone and seen no more. But the idea expressed was eternal. I could learn from their vision, understand better the universal potential, and let the inspiration gained leaven all the work I do for mankind outside those gardens.
Lack in one place does not justify degrading or devaluing supply in another. One should bless the other. I let the struggle go, and focused on understanding God’s beautiful creation better. It was worth the effort.
The Keukenhof Gardens in Holland, like the Botanical Gardens in the Bronx, New York City, USA, can remind all that these are representations of God’ creative beauty that no mortal picture of strife can take away.
We are so happy you are having this enriching experience.
I have always felt that in our demonstration of the human and divine coincidence, our human experience would become more divine in expression. More beauty would be evident, not less.
I also love Mary Baker Eddy’s thought that flowers are hyroglyphs of Love. A divine expression, a divine signature.
In your photograph above, showing the two toned daffodils, to me they mimicked birds reaching up for something to eat… :)) They are just so adorable.
And when you go home, you may plant a few dozen bulbs of your own that enhance your home’s Spring next year.
Thank you for sharing this pictures with us. It means a lot.
Stay safe.
Oo LA LA!
“Even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed as one of these.” Jesus.
Thank you, Evan, for the beautiful photos and your wonderful remarks. As I read your blog I was reminded of something Mary Baker Eddy wrote in Miscellaneous Writings, page 87:3, “To take all earth’s beauty into one gulp of vacuity and label beauty nothing, is ignorantly to caricature God’s creation, which is unjust to human sense and to the divine realism. In our immature sense of spiritual things, let us say of the beauties of the sensuous universe; ‘I love your promise; and shall know, some time, the spiritual reality and substance of form, light, and color, of what I know now through you discern dimly; and knowing this, I shall be satisfied’.”
Thanks again, Evan, for all of your inspiring blog posts and photos!