Flowers spark joy for me. What sparks joy for you?
© Kathy J. Sotak

TOTAL READ TIME: 3 Minutes

Most weeks I head down to the discount floral shop and treat myself to a bouquet. Some weeks the choice is traditional carnations, roses or daisies. This week my choice was bursts of fun green puffs intermixed with delicate white flowers that you have to lean in to notice their beauty.

Flowers spark joy for me, like kayaking does for my husband and the ocean for my son. Why do I love flowers so much? Because of the countless lessons and metaphors that they share with me.

For example, this morning I was telling a friend about my prized echinacea plant in the front yard. Last year it towered at nearly four feet tall, bursting with blooms and served as a pit stop for butterflies, bees and other insects. I would often make a pit stop myself to admire this ecosystem right in the front yard.

This year however, I haven’t seen any blooms. The deer keep eating the echinacea down to the ground. There is no bud in sight. My friend and I contemplated, “How can the plant possibly bloom, when it is in a constant state of repair?”

Think about a time in your life when you were in a state of repair, either mentally, physically or even spiritually. Were you able to flower at the same time? Perhaps you could, with great effort. Likely, not. As a physical example, I’ve been mending a back injury for the past several months, with pain shooting through my core at most basic moves. I wasn’t flowering. I’ve gone through many emotional trials, the most significant was the loss of my first son. As grief and sadness surged through me, I wasn’t flowering. Spiritually, over time I’ve swayed closer or further away from source. When I’ve swung furthest away – I wasn’t flowering.

When we are not flowering, we are mending. The beauty of mending, is we end up as stronger plants, with more bold and beautiful flowers.

Each of us likely are mending something right now. Today, these flowers, along with my mending echinacea bush are reminding me to practice compassion with every interaction. Especially with yourself. This is the medicine we can offer each other to result in more strength and more beauty – when we are ready to flower.