Passion or Compassion

No doubt when we are taken by surprise, good or bad it can trigger emotions. We are never prepared for the unknown. This week was no exception; from a stealth dragonfly in my face to flowers blooming in unknown places and suddenly appearing where you know you didn't plant them. But those would be the least of my worries. And then there's the incident at work where one of your fellow flight attendant coworkers gets beat up severely by a passenger. How does this happen? While I have a hard time wrapping my own head around that one and wondering what are people's passion in life? What are they focusing on? How do we have compassion for everyone in this crazy world we live in? I try to focus on the good in life on my down time. Gardening and photography being my most enjoyable hobbies. My vegetable garden seems to have more than vegetables growing in it these days. Last fall I had an unknown plant that never bloomed so I never could tell what it was. So, in the spring it came up again, I thought at first it was a Clematis, but it didn't produce anything of the sort. I decided I would put it in a pot and keep a close eye on it to see what it would do this year. It just seemed like an ordinary vine growing not producing once again. Till the other day, I was watering and when I looked up, to my surprise, this vine was a Purple Passion! How did that happen?  I can only speculate. But oh how I remember the days and walks of photographing my first sight of a purple passion! The Purple Passion is a vine that can grow up to 25ft in length. It is a Wildflower. Yes, wild. The unusual wildflower was given the name Passion flower because the floral parts were once said to represent aspects of the Christian crucifixion story referred to as the Passion. The 10 petal parts represents the disciples of Jesus, excluding Peter & Judas; the five stamens the wounds Jesus received; the knob-like stigmas the nails, and the fringe the crown of thorns. I'm delighted with my surprise of the purple passion and will make permanent plans for planting it in a special place this fall.