Lessons From A Flower
As someone who falls into the comparison trap often….this is one of my favorite passages from The Practicing Mind.
“At what point is the flower perfect?
I hope you already know the answer: It is ALWAYS perfect. It is perfect at being where it is and at whatever stage of growth it is in at that moment.
Do you think the flower seed sits in the ground and says, “This is going to take forever. I have to push all this dirt out of my way just to get to the surface and see the sun. Every time it rains or somebody waters me I’m soaking wet and surrounded by mud. When do I get the bloom? That’s when I’ll be happy, that’s when everybody will be impressed with me. I hope I’m an orchid and not some wildflower nobody notices. Orchids have it all…no wait; I want to be an oak tree. They are bigger than everybody else in the forest and live longer too”?
As silly as this may sound, this is exactly what we do, and we do it, as they say, every day and in every way. We consciously or unconsciously pick a point of reference with regard to whatever it is we are doing and decide that nothing is right until we get to that point. If you step back and observe your internal dialogue from time to time during the day, you will be amazed at how hard you work against yourself with this type of thinking. At each stage of growth from seed to full bloom and beyond it is perfect at being a flower at that particular stage of a flower’s life.”
~Thomas M. Sterner