Solace in Solitude

My sister noticed this lone flower growing out of the stone wall. She mentioned that I should take a picture of it. So just before my month long visit with her and her family in Scotland ended, I snapped this photo. Now that I am back home, this photo gives me strange comfort. The word solace comes from a Latin root meaning "to console". Images evoke emotion, and photos remind us of  a moment, but art speaks to our heart. So this is more than a photo to me, it is an icon of solitude. Some may think it shows fortitude because this scrawny poppy plant rooted itself in a stone wall, not the usual soil for prospering. I find much comfort in solitary moments. Quiet times of reflection on life and all its beauty and pain. This captured memory becomes a prayer that its beauty and loneliness will alleviate for a brief moment the grief and anxiety that crowd our days. When my sister looks at it she will know that I am praying for her to experience relief and a wistful moment of consolation knowing that we are together, even though we are miles parted.