The Lilacs are Speaking

"I think it pisses God off when you walk by the color purple in a field and don't notice it" -- Shug Avery, The Color Purple

That line is the reason I fell in love with Alice Walker's book and then, ten years later, named my daughter after one of the characters.

I've been noticing the color purple a lot lately because Massachusetts is abloom with lilacs, and not just purple lilacs: pink, white, lavender, and deep, dark purple with inner white swirls. I can't help but stick my nose in a growing bunch and breathe their scent every time I take Bella for her walk.

This photo is of a bush in our neighbor's yard, and when I drive by the blooms with my windows rolled down their scent fills the car. I love them, and-- because of Alice Walker-- they make me think about God, and I love that, too.

Oddly enough, lilacs must have been making the UU minister think about God, too. Today she brought in a bouquet of lilacs, and talked about how good the scent makes us feel, and how we can't see that scent, but we know it's there, and that's kind of how it is with God-- or Spirit or Evolution and Reason.

At that point I took Buckaroo to Religious Education, but R told me that the minister went on to say that Unitarians are known for thinking about God, but they're not known for feeling God, and she sometimes feels envious of those who shout out AMEN, Uh-Huh, and That's Right in church, or dance with snakes, or speak in tongues, because it seems like it would be good to feel the presence of God that way. She then attempted to encourage the congregation to shout out in praise of Spirit during her sermon-- which probably would have made me burst out in a fit of giggles if I'd been there.

In any case, this was the first time R heard the minister speak, and he said he liked her so much he wanted to invite her to dinner and be her friend. She probably gets that a lot.