If we had no winter? Day 21

“The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all.” – Mulan

Perhaps we have all witnessed this? The person who grows with their challenge, whose inner beauty emerges more fully as they meet their  challenge head on. Their grace uplifting to witness and wonder at. I have friends whose wisdom and inner peace has deepened as they have approached their terminal illnesses. I have learned so much from them and had conversations that I could never have hoped to have with others in different circumstance. A rare gift in many respects and their beauty has indeed shone.

But when I think of what makes me bloom, it's not adversity. Adversity has many impacts I have found. It clarifies the priorities in life, the sharp contrasts brought into focus. It makes you find your courage in the deeper places . It makes you witness those you love having to struggle alongside you, your adversity inevitably theirs. It brings pain in all it's forms. It challenges you to find solutions in unexplored places. It helps you learn you can survive those challenging times. It reminds you that life can have many phases, unplanned and unprepared for so don't waste it. It makes you value the spring. 

But it doesn't make me bloom.

What makes me bloom is quite , quite different. It's feeling fully engaged with life. It's feeling that I am making a difference in my work and valued for what I do. It's seeing those I love, my family and friends,  happy and living with meaning in their lives. It's finding joy in the simple things in life, in a walk on a beach, a bird in flight and the flower appearing in spring. It's in loving and being loved in return.