The best advice for life… from a sunflower
Some of the best advice I could give in life involves sunflowers.
Be like the sunflower.
Rise and shine every day.
Be bright, sunny and strong.
Know your roots.
Spread healthy seeds of happiness for future generations.
Hold your head up high.
Grow a little every day.
Most of all, even on the darkest days, stand tall and find the sunlight.
Close your eyes and try to remember your first memory of a sunflower.
Mine? A black and white photo of my Grandma lifting up my mom as an infant so that she could touch the giant sunflower growing in their garden.
Since then I have found sunflowers simply amazing.
They are such incredible flowers. From a single seed they can grow to amazing heights! They offer such a valuable lesson.
Sunflowers actually move their large yellow heads throughout the day by following the sun and casting shadows behind them.
On cloudy days or during a storm I have witnessed the sunflowers in my garden turn to face their neighboring sunflower, riding out the storm face to face, together.
The act of planting a sunflower is an act of love.
I've started seeds two ways.
One method involves carefully planting each seed and once it grows into a strong enough seedling I carefully and thoughtfully transplant it into the soil.
The second method involves me tossing handfuls upon handfuls of seeds into the air and watching them land haphazardly onto the freshly tilled soil.
Regardless of how each sunflower gets its start it somehow is able to find its footing and begins to grow. From there it is up to them to thrive and grow magnificent and tall. Their beauty is a gift to everyone who sees them.
They are also a gift to myself. They feed the birds and they attract all of the pollinators like bees and butterflies as well as many helpful little bugs. Sunflowers have strong roots that are beneficial to the soil. They attract just the right bugs and beneficial bacteria to make the soil that they are growing in, their foundation, balanced and better. In turn the soil becomes healthier and all of the flowers surrounding the sunflower benefit.
Sunflowers are like a little window of time.
Every stage of the sunflower's life has meaning. All of the stages are beautiful. While some stages in the sunflowers life may seem slow and uneventful others are bursting with drama! As in life, the bright, dramatic and bold sunflower begins to age and fade, dropping some of its petals.
But here is the most amazing part…
The sunflower has spent its lifetime waking each day to face the sun, helping others, providing beauty and inspiration, building strong roots and a healthy environment for itself and its neighbors. Eventually the day comes when it is time for the seeds of the faded flower to spread. This one sunflower that grew from a single seed can have a big impact and create hundreds of new sunflowers. Sowing seeds in the spring is a promise for the future.
The first time I saw the photo of my Grandma and Mom with their giant sunflower it planted a seed inside of me. I may not have fully understood as a child the beautiful symbolism that the sunflower holds but as an adult I see that it is the perfect metaphor for how I want to live my life.
If I could be any flower it would be The Sunflower.