passage

I can't resist more references to the shape of an unfurling life in James Hollis' writing. He suggests that the opportunity for conscious living starts somewhere in the middle of one's life. In contrast to behavior learned as children and the strong cultural expectations that shape that learning, we come to understand that there is a choice about which of these characteristics we take into the later part of life, and a responsibility to find our true self.

Rather than an outright parallel to any botanical theme, I'm thinking that this looks more like a personal topography. Bruce Chatwin wrote about songlines, the Australian Aboriginal charting of time and space through music and words that simultaneously emerge along and describe a walked passage through the land. It blows my mind each time I read it, trying to think about these multiple dimensions growing out of one creation. This is the shape of passage I'd choose: one that flows and offers mind-bending new perspectives.