Your blooms are beautiful and valuable and unique!

I opened my blinds this morning to smell the clean air, and examine the pools of yellow water gather in my planters and the cushions of my outdoor chairs.  Beyond my patio the dogwoods are in full bloom. The forest floor, so exposed and barren only a few weeks ago, is alive with ferns, tree shoots, and the freshly dug holes by foraging deer.


I would like to have rushed the process. Winter affects me severely as I age, the darkness played havoc with my moods. In my mind, I pushed nature intentionally to begin her green parade. I wanted to hear the hearty croaking of tree frogs and watch fireflies weave through the branches like children playing hide and seek. I was certainly ready for spring before she was ready to arrive.

As we all know, nature obeys only her laws. When it is all said and done, there is luxury in her rhythms and her majesty. Her cycle of life is sure and predictable and her language is spoken with wind and warmth. However, each species is also individual and they dance to their own earthly music. There is no peer pressure for the trees that have yet to push out their adolescent blooms, no disapproving glances shot towards the river birch that has been showing off before any of her neighbors. Branches do not question their own worth. With thin, green fingers they reach as high as possible to gather the sun’s golden rays while creeping-roots extend and stretch through the loam for the secret rivers of moisture and nutrients.

What can we learn from this? First, the self worth of nature is sure and vibrant and graceful. Attaining wealth or status is moot. The cells are programmed already to flourish and survive without looking over their bark-covered shoulders to see if another tree is gaining on them. Not one umbrella of foliage worries it has come to the party with the wrong pedigree.

As we seek to balance our financial worth and our self worth, interrupted indeed by April’s forced contributions to Uncle Sam, we might retreat back into a sense of feeling stunted and limited. We may be frustrated about our lack of ability to show off our success because our plumes are thin and withered.

I challenge each of you to look deep inside and consider what it means to flourish, and to see that you deserve to stand tall. I want you to hold your posture high and know that your blossoms are beautiful and personal and spectacular! Your worth is about your uniqueness. Stretch high and reach for the sun and keep your feet anchored to a foundation of principals, and a love of life.

In April, Networking, Women and Wine will address these feelings. We will offer wisdom about ways to balance wealth and self worth. We’ll offer strategies for saving money but also thoughts about being generous with the things that cannot be counted or compared.

Don’t miss this chance to embrace the value of you!