You Belong Among the Wildflowers

I don't imagine that I have much in common with the late, great Tom Petty—I'm not a guy or a rocker or a boomer...nor am I famous or rich—but I can relate to his 1994 Wildflowers album in a deeply human way. It's been called his "divorce" album as he said that writing those songs helped him come to terms with his desire to leave his marriage. I didn't know the backstory when the title song came to my attention in 2019, but Wildflowers moved me in such a way that I was compelled to listen to the whole album.

That body of work is simultaneously so beautiful and so painful. The way the music delivered the lyrics straight into my heart invited me to consider a similar move that I'd been suppressing for years. I thought I'd cast my lot, made decisions that I had to stick with, and I should find a way to be happy with the life I'd made. And I was terrified that I would regret leaving; I don't.

You belong among the wildflowers

Far away from your trouble and worry

You belong somewhere you feel free

TOM PETTY

Through the process of imagining the outcome I want, taking an action (usually small, sometime large), and then checking in to see and feel the results, I was able to go step-by-step with love and honor.

How do I know that I made the right decision? Because of all of the signs and synchronicities along the way, and by all of the blessings that seem almost effortless at this point.

I find myself marveling every day at how different and fulfilling my life is, and how different I am. Whether it's cutting okra fresh from the garden, visiting with a local shopkeeper, dog sitting for my favorite Goldendoodle, swimming at the local lake, reading board books to my neighbor's toddler, or enjoying a Southern pound cake lovingly made by a spry 97-year-old woman for her 86-year-old sister, I marvel at the bounty and the blessings.

My message today is that your heart knows the direction that's best for you. And if it seems confused, that's natural. It's a slow process at first to reconnect. Have compassion for yourself. Find a way to get quiet, take a walk among trees and birds, get sunshine on your face, write about what you're grateful for and write down what you're wondering about. If you're still here, it's not too late to listen to your heart, to learn how to trust yourself, to let God in to help and to guide.

God speaks to us through the megaphone of our lives.

Do you belong among the wildflowers? Start exploring.