Sunflowers influence in speaking up

Have you ever had a defining moment that you didn’t realize you had until later? Yesterday, that was my experience.

While driving to Western New Jersey and the picturesque farmlands of Sussex County to visit a Sunflower Maze, I was thinking about the invitation I’d just received while talking on my hands free cell phone. A longtime girlfriend I’d not seen since returning from vacation three weeks prior, invited me to join her and two other special girlfriends for a movie I’d wanted to see, The Help.

I told her that after going to the Sunflower Maze in Augusta, I was thinking of contacting a male friend who just lived down the road from the maze. But, after walking through the Sunflower Maze and absorbing the warmth and happiness that sunflowers convey, I decided to jump back into my Jeep, Madame Merlot II, and high tale it back to the suburbs and meet my girlfriends for the movie.

You may be asking yourself, “What’s the big deal?” However, for me it was freeing to alter my plan on a dime. It would have been nice to see my male friend, but he may not have been home, or available. I choose to do what I really wanted to do rather than do what I thought I ought. It made no difference to my male friend. At that point he didn’t even know I was in the vicinity. The good news is that I hadn’t called him yet to see if he was around for me to stop by for a visit.

Speaking up for yourself comes in all variations of our relationships. It’s my belief that you know in your heart how you want to handle a matter. Have the courage to speak up and change your life by changing your decision making process to one of honoring your core value.

I’ve read various meanings for the sunflower including loyalty and longevity. Samantha Green, of Pro Flowers writes in her article, History and Meaning of Sunflowers, “They are unique in their ability to provide energy in the form of nourishment and vibrance, an attribute which mirrors the sun and the energy provided by its heat and light”.

Yesterday, the Son shine showering down upon the sunflowers definitely influenced me. I made it in time to meet my friends. Though, The Help, was sold out we got into One Day with Ann Hathaway. We’ll see The Help another day. Over all, I was thankful that the sunflowers influence showed me I must have loyalty…even to myself.