Bloom in Any Season

What happens, though, when you don’t quite feel like NOW is your time to bloom?

Can we be real with each other? It might NEVER feel like your season to bloom. BUT, that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.

Let me explain. Throughout life, we see many parallels between the world of nature and human interactions. Yet, we often live our lives in a way that goes against the many rules of nature. Whether it's graduating on time, finding the right job, or just figuring your life out, period,in today’s “Hustle Culture,” we’re constantly surrounded by people gearing up to start new things, new ideas, new hobbies, new businesses, and even new relationships. Suddenly, you're feeling left behind as you watch your peers start their own exciting life cycle.

Seeing the people around us accomplishing these things can leave you feeling like it might never happen for you.

If we’re not blooming in the same season as our peers, then how can we expect to know that it might happen for us at a different time? How can we be sure that our time to bloom will come?

We’re the same age, we live in the same city, we went to school together, we have the same job; if we consider all of these things together, you might come to the conclusion that with similar conditions, we would all bloom together, at the same time. Right? Wrong.

“Flowers bloom year-round,

and so can we.”

Without gardening knowledge, most of us associate flowers with springtime. Immediately after Valentine’s Day, stores are filling the shelves with bright colors and pastels, supplying your new need for décor that brightens your space as you complete the dusting out of winter in our spring cleaning rituals.

Simultaneously flowers start to pop up on the sides of highways and neighborhood lawns seemingly out of nowhere. All of a sudden, there are new things sprouting everywhere.

But what about the flowers that don’t bloom in the springtime? Are they forgotten? Or simply treasured in a different season?

Over the past year, I’ve learned that flowers bloom year-round, and so can we. Last October, while having my daily FaceTime talk with my mom and sister, I found myself surprised by a beautiful flower in my backyard. At this point in the year, most of the yard had become littered with brown fall leaves and rust-colored pine needles. To see this beautiful bright pink Camellia sasquana flower was a pleasant surprise. Upon researching, I found out that this flower is a plant that regularly blooms during the winter months. However, surprisingly it is also from the same species of flower that I knew with certainty bloomed in early spring in my front yard Camellia japonica.

“You might think that it’s impossible to cultivate something

so beautiful during seasons of rain and darkness;

yet it happens each year.”

This got me thinking, “What a great analogy for life.” Everything is not meant to bloom in the same season. Even plants of the same species do not bloom at the same time of the year.Often times , the plants that bloom out of season are even more striking because they pop up at an unexpected time, just like the Camellia in my backyard. You could be waiting to bloom this spring, when in reality, your bright arrival might happen during the season that you least expect it (and don’t we all love a striking surprise).

I like to think God created Earth with flowers and plants that bloom at different times of the year so that we can be reminded year-round that beautiful things exist no matter the season. Great things are staggered so that we can bask in each moment of celebration, each moment of happiness, each moment of excitement, and to take it allllllll in.

“You could be waiting to bloom this spring, when in reality

your flowering may happen during the

season that you least expect it.”

So, how do you move forward? What do you do while waiting to bloom? Let’s look at nature.

Maybe this is your season to rest and recuperate. Maybe this is your season to work hard in preparation, gaining the skills, knowledge, or endurance needed to help you bloom. Maybe this is your season to simply be still and be present, happy for those surrounding you. OR maybe, just maybe, this is your rainy season. Just remember, with the right perspective, you can find the beauty in anything. Flowers that first emerge in spring come fresh after a long period of cold and harsh environments underground. You might think that it’s impossible to cultivate something so beautiful during seasons of rain, snow, and darkness, yet it happens each year. Even we are first born after being surrounded by nine months of darkness in our mother’s womb.

Everyone seems to have a specific timeline in mind that makes sense for living life. Start school, get the job, find the person, get married, have the kids, retire from THE job, enjoy life. Those timelines suggest that these events all happen in linear succession with no interruptions and should occur with no variance. But when you look around, that’s not how things happen anywhere else. At the end of the day, we as humans are just another part of nature. There's no set season for your life to take bloom, there’s no set time for you to start that new thing. In due season, your time will come.

Your season of preparation may last longer than those around you. When it’s your time to bloom, remember you have been prepared in the preceding seasons of your life. Each moment equipping you for what’s to come. Enjoy the beauty and success of those around you blooming; without fear that you’ve missed out this Spring.

As a reminder, flowers bloom year-round, and so can you.

With love,

RealwithMK