Your Inner Dandelion

It seems somehow appropriate that the first blog post to my new website is in recognition of my most respected plant – the dandelion. Seen on the surface as a weed, a nuisance, a reoccurring nightmare – the devil to any gardener who tends their yard with regularity. It seems no matter what you do, it returns – you pull it up, dig it up, spray it with poison, but somehow it returns the next season – those tough, green leaves poking up through your newly laid mulch, that flat yellow flower beaming with certainty. Wait a minute, aren’t these good qualities? Let’s examine the characteristics of that weed:

• Bright yellow flowers poking up through the soil provide a bright spot in the garden, provide a small piece of sunshine and light – Cheerful…
• While the flower is bright, it is rather small and plain - no heavenly scent, no flash or style; the green leaves are jagged, bitter and tough yet – Humble…
• The yellow flower dies, only to come back as a ball of puff to be blown away with the wind (or the power of your breath). A nod to the future, a transforming act – quietly and gently changing its environment – even granting wishes to strangers just for pleasure – Generous, Kind & Unassuming…
• It seems no matter what you do to that dandelion it returns each season, pushing through the dirt. First as bitter leaves, then yellow flower, then puff – creating a never ending cycle of birth, transformation and release – Resilient…  

Hummm… maybe that plant does deserve a bit of respect. Who wouldn’t want to be Cheerful, Humble, Generous and Resilient? If only we always lived life from the place of our inner dandelion…think what the world would be like! Waking each morning, cheerful and bright we go about our day providing a humble base, a thoughtfulness for others, a spirit of generosity. We engage one another in honest conversation, without judgement, without ego; learning and growing and spreading. We absorb and integrate, responding and rebounding from negative experiences with thoughtful consideration and renewed energy – learning what there is to learn and letting go of what doesn't serve us.

Yep – I will take that inner dandelion every time – use it as a base from which to live, a perspective from which to view the world – Tap your inner dandelion!