Wildflowers? Aug 1, 2019.

What I find interesting is the fact that even though I have a list of ideas for posts and content, I still find it difficult to get the motivation to start writing. I'm not sure if that is because I'm still uncomfortable writing my blog or if it's because I'm just afraid of how it's going to go. Silly I know.
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I'd like to take a moment to turn our attention to wildflowers. Think about them for a second and note the image that comes into your mind. For some reason, I've always preferred wildflowers to flowers you might find in the floral section of your local supermarket or even ones planted in a pot. I've thought unnecessarily hard about why this is. Is it the fact that they are rugged? Something about how they are simultaneously hardy yet so tender and beautiful? Or is it the fact that they are plain and no-nonsense? Sometimes wildflowers seem not as exuberant or flamboyant as their fertilizer-chugging counterparts. Still further, maybe it's that many times they aren't the traditional flower shape and have petals that contort, or weird leaves, or bunches, etc.



Although all these are valid reasons, I believe the main reason wildflowers are so magical is because they are just that-- wild. flowers. They aren't sitting in someone's front yard, or in a plastic funnel in a grocery store. Instead, they're on an exposed mountain bluff, fertile valley, or quietly growing in a concrete-bordered median in the middle of a bustling city. Most importantly they are alive-- shining their subtle beauty into the world for those who stop and see. Radiating live beauty that's genuine and ever-present.

That's the way it should be though, shouldn't it? It occurred to me that I'd probably be just as taken with a rose if I encountered one in the wild, not one on a shelf.  I'd probably be breath-taken by a tulip if it was in a field growing and being a tulip. Something about the life coursing through the flower makes all the difference. So then I ask, what is necessary for us to be like those wildflowers and unlike the ones that leave me with a tacky taste in my mouth? Maybe we should strive to be more rugged, yet simultaneously more tender. Maybe we should be more no-nonsense and sometimes plainer. Maybe we should be the ones who aren't traditional and be unique, adding value to our surroundings because of our one-of-a-kind-ness. Most importantly maybe we should portray ourselves as alive and thriving. You know- let our vitality bleed into those around us instead of being fertilizer-sucking fakes. Maybe we should be radiating live beauty that's genuine and ever-present.

As such we'll attract not those who are looking for the superficial or those who will dispose of us later, but instead, we'll attract explorers and adventurers (those who would stop and see) who find us beautiful because they recognize we're tough, tender, simple, genuine, unique -- and full of life. Wild. Flowers.