Blue Poppies & Resilience

As I continue to ponder how the nature we encounter all around us every day teaches us about #resilience and #transformation , I was reminded of this Blue Himalayan Poppy I discovered while visiting the Pacific Northwest a few years ago.

At one point, many people thought these blue poppies were just a myth. And why wouldn't they? They are native to Tibet and China and are challenging to grow because they require cool, moist summers. I was honored to see these beauties in person and capture a pic when I visited the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden in Federal Way, WA. Upon visiting, they don't tell you "exactly" where the Blue Poppy Meadow is - you have to spend time exploring to find it. And when you do, it's like a treasure discovery to experience as photographers, artists, and curious onlookers quietly hang out in awe of these beauties as they photograph, draw, and meditate.

You might be wondering what this has to do with resilience and transformation, and I too wondered why I wanted to include this flower because they are NOT resilient - not even a little bit. They require temperatures of under 75 degrees, continuously rich, moist soil, and constant feeding of fertilizer during their growing season. It takes patience and persistence to successfully grow these flowers. But they are also self-seeders (meaning they drop their seeds at the end of the season and can sprout new flowers during the next season) and their rich nectar attracts pollinators. So if you love watching bees and butterflies in your garden, these poppies will surely call to them.

So back to resilience and transformation - why include the poppy? Well, I think it's a great lesson for us all to realize that resilience isn't something that just grows like wildflowers. Transformation doesn't instantaneously happen. It's a process - one that takes patience, persistence, the right environment, and the realization that everything is seasonal and cannot always shine in all its brilliance. It's a constant death and rebirth process - dying to old habits and self-sabotaging thoughts and behaviors to make room for new opportunities and mindsets and connections.

And like the Blue Poppy, when we are in our growing season, is the "nectar" of our leadership attracting other "pollinators" who can go back out into the world to plant seeds of hope? And during our dormant seasons, did our own transformation process allow us to drop seeds that can be resurrected in the future?

Come journey in a Resilience Circle with The Center for Transforming Engagement and explore the impact your story has. Ask me how.

To read more about their care and the botanical garden, click here: https://rhodygarden.org/growing-blue-poppy-blog