Open and Shut

I’ve been learning a lot about resilience lately. I’ve started to recognize the strength in all of creation, specifically the flowers.

I live in the hood. I’m allowed to say that now because I’ve had my formal ritual to get access to my title. I am Queen in the hood. They call me Lily. A dear friend coined “Lily loves a lot” as my title. My neighbor’s kids call me momma. The neighborhood kids play in my yard. I’ve earned my place in the hood. I love it. It is my favorite place in the world. Full of love and community.

Anyway, living in the hood means there is a lot of trash everywhere. These people are told by society that they’re garbage, so they trash the planet they live on. The world we create for ourselves is the world we feel about ourselves. Regardless of all the trash on the ground, these beautiful flowers grow. I’ve started to notice all the flowers. Gosh! They are gorgeous growing in the garbage. I love it!

One sunny day, I was walking Ruby and I saw these beautiful flowers along our path. I crouched down and took a picture of these bright beautiful purple flowers. The next day, it was raining. I was walking Ruby along the same path and noticed the same flowers as yesterday all closed up. I of course crouched down and took a picture.

A guy who was outside noticed me crouched down with my phone out in the rain and called out, “Hey lady! What’cha doin?”

I called back, “Taking pictures of flowers!”

He responded with amazement, “Oh, you found some?”

That story makes me laugh but also makes me stand in awe of the craftsmanship of creation. No one told the flowers to open up to the sun’s warm rays. No one told the flowers to close up on the rainy days. Those flowers have endured the trash of the hood, and yet they thrive.

Humans are a lot like flowers. We are delicate, frail, and beautiful. A lot of us improve when we get sunlight. We all need water to stay hydrated. We are resilient. We can grow in the harshest environments. We know to close ourselves off when things are difficult as self-preservation and we open ourselves to goodness and light.

Humans are flowers. We can either make sweet fragrances or delicious fruits. We can be fly traps to keep the eco system in check. There are many types of plants.

No matter the plant you are, all plants need time and the right environment to grow. If you have to uproot yourself and go where you belong, go find yourself. The only person that keeps you where you are is you.

The Bible has a verse that says, “God opens doors that cannot be shut and closes doors that cannot be open.” Sometimes where you are is where you are meant to be. You just have to open your eyes and see the lessons you’re learning.

Resilience isn’t taught. It is learned. We are survivors. If you made it this far, you have a story to tell. Humanity is all learning and growing together. We just have to figure out our ecosystem. We all have a place here on this Earth. Let’s start giving out love and light. It is always nice to just stop and smell the flowers.