Flowering Fridays: Thoughts on a Slow Bloom

Beginning blooms of a daisy, in the garden of my grandparent's old house

I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.— E.B. White

Having become something of a semi-expert in the watching of flowers bloom, I know that this much is true:

There are times when the bloom happens easily, and times when the blooming takes it good ole time.

I am definitely a slow moving bloom of late.

I just want to be. To soak up. To take in.

I'm a little too into the energy of summer right now.

(I'm having a great time, of course. I've been walking and loving up a calf. And yesterday we had dinner in our pjs bed and went to bed at 8 p.m.)

But I'm like a melty ice cream cone. All soft and mushy and, to be a honest, a bit messy, too.

Anything that remotely looks like responsibility I am resisting. My "to-do" list for the day is rebelled against like a teenager with an 8 p.m. curfew.

Of course, some of this impulse is good — and needed.

I can sometimes be too much work and not enough play.

But I sense there is bit of fear and procrastination at work here, too.

Because I'm noticing that I'm resisting moving forward on my book project.

Oh, the ways I invent to procrastinate.

I wipe off the countertops, surf the web mindlessly, organize my closet, or have a sudden need for a tall, decaf, nonfat, iced latte.

I'm finding that I'm procrastinating even with the simplest action steps on the book.

Even with a teeny-weeny one, I am resisting.

And it's because I'm scared.

And since I'm aware enough to know this, my next question is what to do with this information.

Do I let the blooming on this project slow down a bit to honor where I'm at right now?

Do I break off my action steps into even smaller ones?

(Like itsy-bitsy ones. Ones that even a spider could manage.)

Or do I explore the source of this fear that keeps me from blooming bigger in the world?

(Because in my heart and soul, I so want to offer this project to the world. I really truly do.)

I don't have an answer at this moment (it might be a combination of all three that's needed), but it's a question I'm going to ponder for the next few days and see what emerges.

Tell me, what is your process when you notice that you are not blooming forward on a project that you really want to bloom big with?

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Flowering Fridays is a weekly look at flowers through the lens of what they might teach us about flowering fully in our life. Past editions are here.

Poppy Posies: A Week of Flower Wisdom, Day 5

This week in lieu of the usual Flowering Friday feature, I bring you the conclusion of our week of flowering wisdom, Poppy Posies.

But first a quote:

And far and wide, in a scarlet tide, The poppy's bonfire spread.

~ Bayard Taylor, Poems of the Orient – The Poet in the East

You never know what impact the seeds you offer into the world will have. You might brighten someones day, bring beauty to someone you've never met or inspire someone a century from now to bloom bigger themselves.

Believe in the beauty of your bloom, even as you wait for your full bloom to emerge. Just because you can't see it yet doesn't mean it's not forthcoming.

We each bloom in our own way and in our time. Our blooming is perfect for us.

Your blooming is needed in the world. Don't ever forget that.

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Tell me, what are the flowers saying to you?

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What is all this poppycock about? you ask.

Poppy Posies is a spontaneously planned week of sharing the wisdom of flowers. First post here. This is the final post. Thanks for sharing this journey with me.

P.S. I'm still soaking up some family time in Ohio. Happy 4th of July!

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Flowering Fridays is a weekly look at flowers through the lens of what they might teach us about flowering fully in our life. Past editions are here.

Poppy Posies: A Week of Flower Wisdom, Day 4

First, a little quote to ponder:

We are slumberous poppies, Lords of Lethe downs, Some awake and some asleep, Sleeping in our crowns.

~ Leigh Hunt, Songs and Chorus of the Flowers — Poppies

Now from more words from our friends, the poppies:

It is our fraility and our weathered parts that give us our beautiful humanness. Our worn edges show our strength and resilience. Find the gift in your broken pieces — and share your wisdom with others.

Be open to receive. There is a constant stream of support — sunlight, air, rain, nutrients, and helper bees — available to support your growth and blooming, if you will only allow it.

Always be scattering seeds in your life garden. That way there are always flowers blooming, flowers about to bloom, new seedlings emerging and old flowers dying off to create new seeds.

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Tell me, what are the flowers saying to you?

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What is all this poppycock about? you ask.

Poppy Posies is a spontaneously planned week of sharing the wisdom of flowers. First post here.

More coming tomorrow.

P.S. I'm in Ohio, visiting family, loving up my girlie (I missed her!) and having dinner tonight with two dear friends I've know since 7th grade. (One of whom I have not seen in 25 years!) So excited to reconnect and walk down memory lane. We're going to watch a dance recital we did from 1984 to "Mr. Roboto" by Styx. Long live our feathered hair and moonwalking! Hope you are having a fun holiday, too!