While photographing this elegant scene, I considered how the leaves resemble various chapters of a lifetime, each one unique, some more uplifting than others. The one constant is the vine's sturdy stem from which the leaves emerge. We can ask ourselves: who or what is the constant in my life? For me, it is my relationship with an affectionate Supreme Person who journeys alongside me through life’s many ups and downs. Bhagavad Gita describes how everything rests upon the Supreme as pearls are strung on a thread (BG 9.2), or in this case, as leaves repose upon a vine.
Since childhood, I have struggled with anticipatory grief over losing loved ones. Perhaps some of you can relate. Therefore, I find great solace in the knowledge that I have an eternal well-wisher and friend, a companion till the end of this life and beyond. Here is an encouraging quote to affirm this: “The relationship with the Lord is never broken; thus there is no grief and no fear. There is an unlimited flow of everlasting happiness without the fear of its being broken as we have experienced here in the material world” (SB 2.7.47 purport). Now that's comforting isn't it? 
