There she is….awkwardly standing above the other flowers in the garden. She does not apologize for her unique flower face or her gangly, tall stem she stands upon. She is in a league of her own. Happiness and joy follow her, for one cannot look upon her and feel darkness. Sunflowers stay in the light.
Oh, to be a Sunflower.
I have many, many flowers in my garden. Some planted, some wild. Some expensive Heirloom Antique Roses, and some dollar store Zinnias…..but nothing compares to the life lessons I learn from the Sunflower. Whether it be patience, embracing uniqueness, perseverance, rejecting darkness and negativity, or just being able to spread happiness…..the Sunflower wins every time.
Sunflowers bring so much life to the garden. It’s like an Allium bulb rising above the crowd. I can’t help but absolutely LOVE the diversity of texture in my garden. Last year, I sowed about 6 different varieties of Sunflowers throughout different parts of the garden. At that time, I also had about 65 chickens eating everything in sight, including the Sunflowers I had just planted. I knew I had too many chickens and my gardens were suffering, but it took a Badger incident in my chicken coop, (yes…..a Badger), to finally knock some sense into my head. I gifted most of my chickens to chickenless friends, and I am back to my original 10 girl flock. Long story short, I was ready to attempt planting Sunflowers again.
This year, I had just one single, beautiful Sunflower come up. For such an easy flower to seed, I clearly was struggling. I wish I could blame it all on the chickens, but I must admit, I was the problem. In my haste of pulling up native sunflowers that literally take over a garden, I accidentally pulled up all the seeds I had planted. Lesson of the day…..think before you yank.
My beautiful Sunflower stands alone in the garden. I wonder if that Sunflower looked at the odds of escaping the chickens and the hasty weed-puller, and ever thought of just cashing it in. Whatever worth could just one Sunflower bring to the garden?
It is easy to not rise above the obstacles…..to still stand tall and bloom.
It’s easy to compare….to look at others for our sense of worth.
It’s easy to be hasty……to focus on the “now” and taking things into our own hands, instead of allowing time to bring forth beauty.
It’s easy to forget about the incredible seeds that have, and will be be sown in our lives.
It’s easy to not see the good things that are coming….the blooms that await.
Oh, to be like a Sunflower.
Happy Gardening, my friends!