This week the weather has turned cold again. I even saw tiny ‘snow wisps’ in the air one morning. With my winter coat on and insulated boots, I walked around and checked out the flower gardens. The forget-me-nots, trilliums, narcissus and bleeding hearts are all in full bloom. With the tulips on their last hurrah and the peonies just budding, various colours still dazzle the landscape. I wonder what allows them to bloom and be hardy in this frigid weather.

The flowers hear me and respond to it. “Practise” they say gently. They understand the challenges of blooming in spring, a time of transition and new birth. “What is it you practise?” I curiously ask.“Sustainability” was the reply. I ponder. I breathe. I open. “Tell me more. You practise sustainability?”

“Yes, we practise being who we are.” They know I’m surprised. The conversation isn’t what I anticipated and they play with my expectations of what I believe the answers will be to my questions. “We practise every day. Not just here and there when we feel like it or think we have the time or energy or resources to bloom. We only have a season to bloom. We live it to our fullest potential. We never waste a moment.”

After I pause to allow my heart to catch a breath they continue. “We know we are incredibly beautiful. We don’t spend any time living in doubt about the value of our essence. We are lovely and we practise being lovely and thinking lovely about ourselves every day of our season.”

I could likely question what they mean by thinking lovely, but that may be a conversation for another time. This conversation comes to an end and I am left to contemplate their wisdom. This conversation, as all heart-to-hearts are meant to do, leaves me changed.

So here is the simple and profound wisdom I am gifted here:

• To sustainably live our potential, we must practise living our loveliness, our beauty every day because that is who we most naturally are.
• Since our lives are a gift, waste not our loveliness on doubt and disbelief.
• Completely own our loveliness, our beauty and we will realize our potential (even when the winter winds blow in our spring!).

What is your ‘practice’ of living your loveliness? Does your ‘practice’ offer you a sustainable way to live your potential, even through the challenges of life?

I would love to hear from you about what you practise and how often. Thank you for listening to the flowers this month. Nature will offer us more insights and wisdom next month as we continue our conversation with Her.