Pollen, the messenger of spring, is unpleasant at best. How should you deal with similar messengers in real life? Realize they are not the main event.
The unmistakable, yellow-green substance has arrived, its path clearly discernable by the rivulets leading from my driveway, all while coating each and every surface as if to plant the proverbial claim to its realm.
Pollen.
Feared by allergy sufferers everywhere. Eagerly awaited by no one, save for the car washes offering respite from the choking dust plumes.
The harbinger of spring. The messenger announcing that yes, in case you have not noticed nature blooming, trees greening, and temperatures becoming haphazardly sporadic—guess what y’all?
Spring is coming.
Pollen, nature’s Mr. Obvious, is an inconvenience those of us in the South have no choice but to deal with. Over and over and over again. Eventually it fades until we forget all about it. Until next year.
Pollen is the messenger. Perhaps not the one we would have chosen, but it is the hand we were dealt.
We all have those “messengers” in our lives. The unpleasant ones. The ones who make their existence unabashedly known to any and everyone within ear shot. The ones who do not read body language, social cues, or have the presence of mind to know when it is time to go. And yes, the ones who, for whatever reason, we have to grin and bear their presence.
Sigh.
Well, they will eventually leave. That’s true and is one way to look at it.
Here is another. An unpleasant messenger does not always herald unpleasant news. What is pollen announcing? The arrival of spring, in all its glory. Colorful displays to remind you of nature’s beauty and resilience, relief from winter’s chill, and the conclusion of hibernation. It is the moment you first step outside and take a deep breath of fresh, crisp air as sunlight warms your face.
Those people…the unpleasant messengers…they are not the main event.
Read that again. They are not the main event.
Yes, we must acknowledge their existence even if every fiber of our being hopes to feign otherwise. Do not be distracted by the messenger. Focus on what is yet to come.
Do not let the sandstorm of pollen obscure the vision of peach blossoms sprouting from every branch.
Receive the message.
Adjust your focus.
You will barely notice as pollen takes its exit.
Beauty, peace, and resilience are the message.
When life gives you pollen, appreciate the peach trees in bloom.
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