Anyone who knows me knows that I am insanely obsessed and madly in love with flowers. There is no doubt that they are beautiful, vibrant, fresh and full of life. But even outside of the beauty, flowers hold a special place in my heart because they remind me of my grandmother.

My grandmother was a soft, graceful woman, kind, beautiful & an all around good person. She made her living working at a flower shop and from my birth until about 13 years old my grandmother lived with us. I had front row seats to all different kinds of flowers and witnessed the joy a simple arrangement can bring to a sick person, a graduate, and even a woman who’s angry. I remember going to the flower shop on Saturdays as a little girl and sitting there for hours – the staff was like family to us. I would play in flowers all day, make flower arrangements, admire my grandmother, and take in the fresh scents of every flower you can think of. As a kid I didn’t realize how significant these moments would be in my life & how big the role of a flower would play in my adulthood. At the age of 13 years old my grandmother passed away and I remember still smelling her sweet flower scent even in the months beyond her death. When I look at flowers I see life, I see her life…and that will forever be sacred to me.

Now fast forward years later as an adult, my love for flowers has grown immensely. As an adult flowers mean so many things to me, so I’m going to share 3 lessons I’ve learned over the years.

EMBRACE THE LIGHT- As I’m sure most of you know, a flower cannot blossom and grow to it’s fullest potential without the light of the sun. As human beings, we too must focus on the light. We must focus on the light that illuminates goodness, positivity, happiness, and integrity. We have to cherish the light that shines in our lives, despite the darkness that can sometime overshadow. If we can focus on the light then we can be a source of light for others who suffer in darkness and long to grow toward the sun.

OPEN UP & BLOSSOM- A flower blossoms no matter what’s inside. It owns its uniqueness & opens up into its fullest potential regardless of what the world may think. We owe it to ourselves to fully embrace who we are - to accept, appreciate, and maximize who we are on the inside. In order to live the happiest, healthiest and fullest of lives, we owe it to ourselves to fully explore who we are; our interests, our passions, our fears, our strengths, and our weaknesses. When we open up – no matter what’s inside - we allow room for self-discovery to happen…we learn about who we really are. When we can maximize our strengths, minimize our weaknesses, and finally harness our interests and passions….we give ourselves the greatest opportunity to lead a happy, balanced, and fulfilled life.

GROW HIGHER REGARDLESS OF THE END RESULT - Most people don’t understand the concept of flowers. They think, “ Why appreciate flowers? They’re just going to die any way.” But in spite of the fact that when winter rolls around they will die, flowers still grow, they still live, & they thrive regardless of their end result. This is no different from us as humans. So much about our lives surround an overarching idea of pursuits. We’re pursuing dreams and goals, pursuing careers, pursuing a perfect love and family, and etc.. We have to be conscious in our pursuit because we can easily place too much focus on the end goal — the objective, the sought-after achievement of our pursuits. But what about the pursuit itself?

Each beautiful flower has a purpose & in spite of their short lives and the death that awaits them, they LIVE…simply because they can. There are infinite amounts of passion and interests to pursue in all of us. As we seek & achieve success we must always remember that we live because we both have PURPOSE and because we CAN. Do more, see more, and become the best “you” that you can be.

Bloom into the most vibrant version of yourself.