“What kind of flower are you?” The question took me aback when I read it. Could the writer be suggesting that the kind of flower we surround ourselves with offers testimony to our view on life?
The more I thought of it, I realized there was a great truism here. Nature offers her treasures as subtle metaphors for so many of life’s lessons. Here was my mine:
In my work as a professional speaker and consultant, I had found myself sometimes overwhelmed with the amount of work and travel on my plate. At other times, I heard myself beginning to panic with the scarcity.
“It’s either pheasant or feathers”, I’d grumble. Some colleagues had told me that I worked too hard on material, constantly editing, adding, pruning, and arranging.
“But it makes what I do more timely and current,” I’d respond and silently wonder if they were right.
And then I read this question.
“But of course,” I thought. “ROSES!”
In our small strip of California garden, I have planted rose bushes. In season, they bloom profusely, coming back in abundance the more I tend them, weed, fertilize, AND give them away. Out of season, their bare stems look forlorn and without potential. Yet I know that in due time, the nourishment received from this time of rest will bring them back in abundance.
It is the course of their life. It is the pattern of my work. When viewed in this manner, I now understand that my work pattern reflects the natural world of roses. It’s not right for everyone. But it is right for me. Guess I’ll just bloom when and where I am planted!