Alyice on April 16th, 2010

Echo Challenge Blossom

Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.
– Henry Ward Beecher

It’s echo time! This time the prompt is “Blossom”. Blossom: to bloom, to develop, to produce, to grow into a promising state. It signifies so many things to me that it was truly hard to settle on one single meaning of the word.

Happy marriages begin when we marry the ones we love,
and they blossom when we love the ones we marry.
– Tom Mullen

First, I thought about my marriage and how much of who I am today is because of the man I married. Our marriage hasn’t always been easy, but it has always been worth the fight. Even at our worst moments, when we’ve wondered if staying together was the right thing to do, we knew there was no other place we’d rather be than right where we were—with each other.

He truly is the best friend I’ve ever had. He sees me at my worst and loves me in spite of it. He’s never thrown me away like garbage simply because something better came along or life got in the way, he’s never used me, or abused me. And he has always encouraged me to be my best, to do things that make me feel happy, and to love myself—to see the good inside of me. And he says I’ve done the same for him.

The finest gift you can give anyone is encouragement…
If everyone received the encouragement they need to grow,
the genius in most everyone would blossom.
– Sidney Madwed

Then I thought about my children and how something my daughter said to me recently really blessed my husband and I and truly showed how children blossom with the right type of encouragement.

She asked, “Why do you think my brother and I get along so well when you and your sister can’t even be in the same room together and dad’s siblings never attempt to stay in touch or even return calls? Why do you think we do better in school than you and dad ever did? Why do you think life is better for us even when our money is tight?”

Then before I could even answer she said, “I think it’s because of you and dad and how you raised us. You treat us different because we are different but you don’t play favorites or love one more than the other… One day at school my friends asked if we’d ever want to be like our parents. Most of my friends said no but I said yes. I like how you and dad are with each other. I like how you are with us… I don’t like getting into trouble but when I do I know I deserve it… I like knowing that we are loved and you want us around.”

I believe that life is a journey,
often difficult and sometimes incredibly cruel,
but we are well equipped for it
if only we tap into our talents and gifts
and allow them to blossom.
– Les Brown

And finally, I thought about life and how at its best it is a wonderful journey full of opportunities and at its worst, it’s a living hell that can suck everything you have left right out of you. And somewhere in between therein lies the lives of many—not quite euphoria, but not quite disaster, either.

And it has me wondering, How much better would the world be if each and every one of us stopped existing in that “in between place” and started blooming where we stood? What if we not only started believing in ourselves enough to change our destinies but we began praising those around us so that they, too, could blossom? What would the world look like then?

Until next time…

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Comments (4)

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Jenny says:
Great post, Alyice….lovely!
Posted at 7:54 pm April 16th, 2010
Alyice says:
Thank you Jenny!
Posted at 9:51 pm April 16th, 2010
Theresa says:
Sounds like you have a very loving and wonderful family~ That is always such a blessing and pay off from all the hard work that goes into it.
All my best, Theresa
Posted at 10:11 pm April 16th, 2010
Alyice says:
Thank you Theresa. I couldn’t agree more about how good it feels to have all your hard work pay off, especially when it comes to my family. I only pray that as they become adults, our bonds will only grow stronger and that life won’t pull us apart.
Posted at 12:27 am April 17th, 2010

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I'm a freelance writer, mixed media artist, SMVA, and the owner of The Dabbling Mum.

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