
Here’s the thing about camellias. The buds take about a half a year to develop and open. So the ones I planted in January never did. At least while we lived there. I think it was a combination of the first year planting and other stuff. Disappointing? Yes, a little, but…
The new house we bought had camellias too! Finally, I was going to get to see these beautiful flowers in all of their glory,
Turns out not so much.
An ice storm and snow in January killed all of the buds and left me with nothing but a bunch of evergreen leaves. Beautiful but let’s face it, green leaves are hardly camellias.
They finally came. In fact, this year’s flowers are still on the bush now. And they always so worth the wait.
Just like camellias, people blossom too. Sometimes it’s right on schedule but more often than not, it takes a little longer for different reasons. Some environmental. Some personal. But legitimate reasons just the same.
Sometimes when we are waiting for that burst of inspiration, it feels like forever. The plan taking shape. The success that we dream about.
We wait. And wait. And wait a little more and still nothing. But if we look hard, really hard, sometimes it’s because we are still curled up in the warmth of that tight little bud, thinking about blossoming but letting other things get in our way.
We play small. We’re not sure if we can do it. What will other’s think? The obstacles to our blossoming are self-imposed. Why? Because sometimes we feel like it is less painful to remain in that blossom than to put ourselves out there for everyone to see.
It’s in that tightness, that holding close that we fail to become what we can be. As you consider where you are now (because let’s face it, the one thing we all have an abundance of is time) and what you want to be or do or see, maybe it’s okay to unfurl and turn yourself to the sun. Don’t hold your beautiful gifts, your beautiful thoughts, your beautiful you so tightly.
You’ve got the time to really truly think about what you want life to look like when we all come back together into the sun.
Maybe now is the perfect time to blossom and share your beauty with everyone.