What would life be like if you could float in the sky on dandelion fluff? Would you do it? Would you be brave and trust that you’d land where you belong?
Fluffy, floating little seeds look so fragile to me. Yet, somehow, someway, with persistence, they survive and thrive adventures as they drift across the skies.
I’m amazed at the hidden powers of hope within each collection of little seeds.
They get power from gusts of wind. They’re carried up off of the plant and transported across the fields to find a new landing spot.
In someone’s backyard. In some field far away. To destinations unknown, without fear – just floating along with the gusts of trust and hope.
“Bloom where you are planted.”
I love that saying. For various reasons, it reminds me of dandelion seeds that have floated across the sky and found a new spot to bloom.
Imagine the freedom of just floating around in the beautiful sky. Ah…
Wonder if it would feel like skydiving in reverse?
Instead of jumping out of a plane, dropping down from the sky, you’d start on the ground, grabbing onto a tiny little stick, floating upward on a gust of wind.
You’d be floating high up into the sky, twirling and spinning around in the air.
Unlike a true skydiver, you’d pass on jumping on the plane again to do it all over again. Instead, you’d land somewhere safe to hibernate on the cool ground for a long winter’s rest. Taking time to nurture your traveling soul.
And then in the spring, you’d start your adventure all over again. Popping out of the ground as a bright yellow bloom helping the bees or weird-looking little bugs find their first pollen of the year.
Dandelions are resilient and persistent. Devoted to carrying on.
In a way, it’s like when our children moved on and left our nest. I felt a little bit of emptiness, at the same time, a little bit of readiness for new beginnings, too.
My youngest daughter painted this picture of dandelions when she was in high school. Contemplating the next phases in life, maybe, I can only assume so. I know I sure was wondering where she’d land and how her journey would take her off to a new place to bloom.
I love the details, the colors, and the idea that some little person takes a chance to venture off somewhere. All they have to do is climb up a little ladder, grab onto and idea, chase it with hope, ride the drift of a new dream, and trust in the endless possibilities of new beginnings.
Just like skydiving on dandelion fluff.
Post Inspiration – Dutch Goes the Photo Tuesday Photography Challenge – Back Catalog where this week Frank challenged us to find a photo from our catalogs from the past and revisit it. I took these photos in 2017, they remain some of my favorites.
PS – Happy Tuesday to all – hope your week is off to a great start. When you were a child, did you pick dandelions? Did you make wishes as you blew the fluff off the stem? Have you gone skydiving before?
Anything that gets you out of the old [formerly useful] habits is good by me. I like the idea of floating on dandelion fluff, seems like a great way to envision your future– as long as no lawn care company comes along with their weed control program. 😉
LOL – I almost spit out my coffee I was sipping. Yeah, a lawn care company’s weed control program is a discouraging thought – jumping back on the skydiving plane may be a better idea? 😉
🙂 Love that !
Thank you!!
This is a wonderful post. “Bloom where you are planted.” I’ve not heard that before, and I think it’s inspiring. I am more like the dandelion fluff — I’m a wanderer, a nomad, who finds it hard to stay put. New places, people, things energize me. My challenge is to stay planted. I may post that on my wall with my other inspirational quotes.
Thank you, Theresa. I saw the quote a long time ago on an office wall of a co-worker. I found it to be inspiring like you said. I’m like you – I love discovering new things – it is a challenge to stay focused. If the quote helps, I’m all for posting it where it inspires :-). Thank you for stopping by and for sharing your thoughts.
Fantastic photos! Thank you for sharing these!! I sometimes wonder — where did each of these dandelion seeds get swept to? (There’s a book I read with the kids called “The Dandelion Seed” – it tells such a story … 🙂 your photos made me think of it.
Thank you, I appreciate your feedback. It was a perfect morning to catch those photos. I often wonder the same about the little seeds. I haven’t read that book, but I’m going to add it to my want-to-read list. Thank you for the suggestion. Thank you too for the post you shared about the alley. Very thought-provoking.
It’s a children’s book – not particularly literary masterpiece but the drawings are great and it offers the view point of a seed … which is not commonly how it is. So, yeah, worth checking out if it is in the library where you are.
The alley alludes to the museum to it’s left, but … yeah, thought provoking would be a great way to describe the story that museum tells. 🙂
I like to read children’s books – it keeps me in practice for when my adult kids have their own kids and I’m writing a book myself. I enjoy ones that take a different perspective. I found there’s an adult book with the same title too. Have you read that?
Museums are so fascinating. It’s nice you drew attention to the path leading to it.
I didn’t know about the adult book (or maybe I had heard of it but didn’t actually see it? Hmm… something tickles the corners of my brain…). In any event, I’ll take a peek to see what it was about.
Hurray to reading to children (always excellent, and too many parents stop way too soon), and also kudos for writing yourself — am in the middle of yet another novel myself (well, in the process of two, one for younger readers, one for adults. The other three novels I published are two for adults and one for teens, then another professional book, which is, of course, for adults, too). My best on the book you’re writing — if you ever want an eye, let me know. 🙂
Na’ama
I found it on Good Reads (by Lena Kennedy) – I haven’t read it yet, but it did look interesting.
Wow – you’re inspiring to me to have that many WIP’s and completed projects too. Thank you for your wishes and offer to take a peek at mine when it’s ready for critiques – that would be wonderful!!! Best wishes on your WIP’s too!
🙂 You’re welcome.
No rules about how many WIP one ‘can’ have … 🙂
I don’t know how I could do more than one at a time, I’m impressed that you can, way to go!!
It is more, work on one a bit, work on the other a bit — more like that then actually parallel writing (editing I do actually do on more than one at a time – different brain processes, I guess. …). It’s not better or worse than a one-at-a-time thing – just the way my brain works sometimes. 🙂
Ah, sounds like a very creative brain to me!
🙂 busy brain, yeah. Might as well try to channel it to the creative … 😉
Yes, indeed!
🙂
We like dandelions. Our daughter had such fun picking them. Great photos !
Yes – our two did too – the bouquets they’d bring into us are fond memories. Thank you!!
One person’s dandelion is another person’s weed I guess. I like them and do remember blowing the fluffy seeds around – such fun especially on a windy day. My kids used to pick bouquets of dandelions and bring them in the house, asking for a vase! Those macro shots are amazing, Shelley. Wow!
So true. I cringed the first time the kids brought me a bouquet – I remembered being charged with the task of plucking them out of the yard with a garden tool. Then I saw their darling smiles, and I got a vase and we admired them together. Thank you – can you believe I took them 2 years ago? They are some of my all time favorite shots.
Lovely thoughts, Shelley! I would love to float also. What a lovely artwork!
Thank you, Winnie. We’re both blessed with talented children, aren’t we! (Chips off the ol’ talented blocks, right?) 😉
You’re welcome, Shelley! Indeed! I truly agree with you lol.
🙂
I somehow missed this post, but I’m sure glad I saw it during the round-up. Your daughter’s painting is amazing.
Aw, thank you. Don’t worry – I miss posts all the time, I’m thankful you took the time to check the post out. Thank you too for the kudos for my daughter’s painting. I, of course, agree – she is carrying on with that talent in her own freelance company. Isn’t it fun to be a proud-mom!!? You know that feeling well.
Please share some more of her work! If it’s anything like this painting I would love to see it. <3
PS – your dunes photos are gorgeous!!
Thank you so much!