Walking early Sunday morning through the Acadiana Park I came across this sign – “Do not pick wildflowers” and it got me thinking. I love wildflowers and definitely agree with this “rule” because I like to see them growing and if you pick them I will miss them and vice versa but this sign brought me down another path of thought as I walked pondering the “wildflowers” in my life.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines “wildflower” as the flower of a wild or uncultivated plant or the plant bearing it. In most cultures around the world the wildflower represents joy. Urban Dictionary defines it as a free spirit., uncultivated by the mainstream, independent thinker, bravely growing wild and free in a world plagued by conformity. The scene from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll adds to this definition when Alice finds herself in a flower garden shrunk to size of the flowers around her: “Do you suppose she is a Wildflower?”, said the Daisy. “We don’t let wildflowers grow here, Independent minds and wild hearts are not encouraged”.
Wildflowers!!
I have been blessed with so many wildflowers in my life.
Beautiful women forging their own paths,
finding their own ways of being,
searching for the untamed,
going against the grain,
wild and free.
These women have helped to pollinate so many of my thoughts, expanding and stretching me to include and investigate out of my comfort zone. These women have cultivated a safe place for me to find myself learning to settle into my own skin and embrace the beauty I hold. These women have burst through the what is to the what could be. These women have been the honey to some of the bitter lessons of life. These women have been a community for growth, healing and finding treasure.
I am so thankful for the wildflowers that have grown across my path over the years. I am so thankful for the bending to take a closer look. I am so thankful for the picking of each wildflower I was gifted to hold close, to smell the fragrance and to appreciate the beauty! Thank you WILDFLOWERS past and present – thank you!
So…YES! Pick the wildflowers!!!
