The neighbor next door has the most amazing flower garden I’ve ever seen. He could teach the botanical gardens a thing or two. It has hundreds of incredible flowers and lots of species that bloom all summer long. He spends hours and hours every weekend out there weeding and feeding and planting. I, on the other hand, can and have killed succulents.
When I look at it from my backyard I see all the beauty. Lots of different flower beautifully arranged to bloom all summer long. When you look at it close up you see the weeds too. In fact if he doesn’t pull the weeds then there is no chance that flower bed even lasts one summer.
Side note…right in the middle of the garden…is one of those flag banners. About 4 feet X 6 feet hanging straight down and on the flag hanging from its stand is….a picture of…a flower.
I know!
In the middle of all this authentic and real beauty is a fake and unrealistic picture of a sunflower!
I’ve created quite a banner of my life throughout the years. Completely unintended, but nevertheless, it’s an unrealistic picture. It involves always looking good, not showing the pain and like I have it all together with answers for everything. But it’s an unrealistic picture and I don’t want you to look too close. Too many weeds.
But one thing I’ve been learning is that the realistic picture is really the beautiful one. Beauty doesn’t exist without weeds. Courage doesn’t exist without fear. Compassion doesn’t exist without pain.
When I wonder about the purpose of this condition…I am trying to embrace the realistic picture and remove any banners in the middle of the garden. To live…authentically…
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