Before May of this year, I never found four leaf clovers. I used to think it was because they were rare and I was unlucky. When I found my first one, I felt a childlike excitement, followed by the errant thought- 'did I just mess up my chances of winning the lottery jackpot'?
Since then, I've found several more four leaf clovers (I think my count is somewhere around 10). Sometimes I am looking for them; other times I will just look down and there will be one sitting at my feet, seemingly saying 'Hello. Now that you've noticed me, are you going to bring me home'? Of course, I cannot resist plucking the clover from the ground, bringing it home, tucking it between two cards and nestling it between two pages of a particularly lengthy tome.
A friend asked me tonight, 'how do you find them/so many of them'? I thought about it for a moment, then two. I realized it's not about looking and finding, but seeing things in new ways. When I hunt four leaf clovers, I usually crouch down or sit in the grass, feeling the tips of each blade rub against my palms and my calves as I gently brush the clumps of clover from side to side. Sometimes, I just sit and stare at the ground.
Before I began actually finding them, I just saw a big expanse of green that I really couldn't have cared less about. Now, I see each plant, each stem of clover and clover flower, the devil's paintbrushes that sometimes resemble spindly dandelions, the complex weave of grass and other plants that produce the tapestry I call my lawn. My eyes are drawn to the ants, beetles, and spiders that move on and under its vast two to three inch canopy. Once you really begin to see on that level, it becomes easy to spot a four leaf clover hiding in a sea of three leafers. In fact, it reminds me of Sesame Street when they would show you the 4 objects and sing the song about how one is different. Looking for four leaf clovers once I learned to see is just like watching that as an adult.
I feel tranquil and closer to nature in a way that I've never felt before. I recommend that everyone with access to a clover patch grab a cup of coffee, tea, or your beverage of choice, take your shoes off, and relax. I think you'll find that instead of actually having to look for it, the clover will jump out at you.
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I find alot of them. People always tell me they've never ever found even one. Makes me feel special that I've found so many.
ReplyDeleteI must take after my mom. She's the one that started it. She finds one almost everywhere she goes. Just looks down and there it is!