I was pleasantly surprised yesterday with the opening of an absolutely beautiful peony blossom in my garden. It is a deep red/pink colour and completely warms my heart. Last year it did not bloom because necessity was such that the plant had to be moved from one location to another. Peonies HATE being moved. It puts their roots into a state of shock and then they won’t produce buds for an entire season. So I had to reconcile myself with the realisation that I would not see this darling bloom for an entire year. It was difficult. But I kept the long game in mind.
Flowers blooming always fascinate me. One moment they don’t have any buds at all, then suddenly the buds are there, just waiting for the right combination of heat and moisture and the right nutrients from the soil being sucked up by the roots. Then just as quickly they BURST into full blossom and create colour and scent that can be smelled near and far! In many ways, I view flowers much like I view people.
People always have potential. Yes, sometimes they have to go dormant and hibernate for a period of time, closing themselves off from the harshness of the world. But they also have within them the seeds of possibility. When a person is nurtured properly they become someone that is capable of a great many things. If they are abused those things get delayed and sometimes never do get realised. When I look at a flower about to bloom I always wonder what it is about to become? When I watch a person developing I wonder the same thing.
We have to ask ourselves now and then “What are we becoming?” in order to truly know where we are at in any given moment. Sometimes what we are becoming is a mystery. But the fact that we ARE becoming SOMETHING lets us know that we are in transition in the moment…and that we will make it through and, on the other side of this transition, we will be changed…we will be something more than who we once were…we will be someONE more than who we once were. And that is very exciting indeed!