Offerings of Love

Yesterday the weather turned warm (again). I went out on the front porch to find sunlight glistening on the grass. I fetched a pair of scissors and cut a single rose from the corner bush and a curve of rosemary that had started to bloom.

Back inside I gathered my silver tray, some incense and a scrap of bread. In Bali, the people prepare offerings to the gods every morning. Every morning, they place a flower, some incense and a small ball of rice on a leaf. Every morning, after a short prayer, they leave the offering on the steps to their house or on the sidewalk.

In the larger hotels and other business establishments, they have people whose job it is to walk through the building with these offerings. I light my incense and walk through my house, circling each room. I look anew at the familiar surroundings and give thanks. Give thanks for the shelter, for the beauty, for the family I love.

In the kitchen, I stop and give special thanks for the roses dear husband gave me for Valentine’s Day. Their pale coral warms the seafoam of the kitchen walls.

When I have finished, I take the tray and leave it on the porch floor, at the top of the stairs. In a short while, the sun will reach it and sun will glint off the silver, steal through the petals.