Are You A Sunflower?

sunflower

I love sunflowers.  I love way they stand tall in the sunlight and that they glow with beauty.  Did you know that sunflowers represent positivity? Did you know that they are associated with sunshine? How positive are you?  Are you a sunflower?   

Advise from a Sunflower: Be bright, sunny and positive. Spread seeds of happiness. Rise, shine and hold your head high.

Some Sunflower Facts

  • Sunflowers are over 4500 years old originating in North America.
  • Sunflowers can be milled for flour, seeds eaten, and oils used in cosmetics.
  • They signify positivity and can be given to convey emotions of warmth, luck, adoration and friendship. 
  • Sunflowers – while young – follow the sun.  Their blooms follow the sun across the sky. They have their own biological clocks which allows them to move east to west during the day and back at night.  Once mature, they stay facing east to attract bees and other pollinators.
  • Sunflowers are known to grow up to 10 feet tall, but the record was set at 30 feet (Fun Fact: My dad used to enter his sunflowers each year at our home-town fair for the tallest and the biggest head. I think he won biggest sunflower head once or twice which got him a ribbon and bragging rights).  
  • Sunflowers can absorb toxins – metals and radiation. 

Out of all those points above, a few stood out:

Postivity…… Face The Sunshine…… Absorb The Toxins

Similar to my Are you a Daisy post, sunflowers can mirror people.  How positive are you?  Do you follow others who radiate light? Or do you shine light on others?  Can you absorb the negativity of the world to eliminate it? Or do you absorb it in making you wilt and crumble?  

I’d like to think that I am a sunflower.  I do my best to shine light onto others, follow people who are light and cheery, stay positive throughout the day and I do my best to let go of all the negative comments of the world.  Oftentimes though, my heart can wilt.  Just like a sunflower (or any flower really), if not nurtured, loved, and fed… it will wilt.  

So, with how the world is today, how do you stay positive, shine light and absorb the toxins?  

I must say, you really have to work hard to be a sunflower. If you are reading, listening, or watching any form of news related program, you will soon have your head filled with fear, negativity, and/or heartache.  Your once loved newscaster is not at liberty to spread joy and love as once was encouraged years ago, but rather spread webs of lies, deceit, and fear.  I’ve seen it with my own eyes how a once loving and outgoing person has now changed into a fearful introvert trapped inside their home.  

If you are starting to feel this way, try the following steps to regain the positive, light and toxic-free heart you once had: 

  1. No more news.  Turn off all news programs and delete your news apps from your iPad or phone.
  2. Read a fiction book. Get lost in a story.
  3. Start a new hobby or get back to an old one (with the fall season here, it’s almost puzzle time for me. I love puzzles).
  4. Get Active.
  5. Help a neighbour or a friend.
  6. With the holidays approaching, volunteer with a local charity.
  7. Start or end your day with a gratitude list (list out 3-5 things you are grateful for every day).
  8. Read a devotional every morning before your day even starts. It gets your heart and mind started in a positive and loving manner.  Not sure where to begin?  Here are a few examples you can try:

Doing these simple steps will begin to nourish your soul and bring you back to the beautiful sunflower that you are.  Even a wilted sunflower will begin to rise and follow the sunshine if nourished making it strong, healthy, and ready to absorb any toxin that comes its way.  

Now go, be the sunflower you were meant to be.  If we all did that, I believe happiness, positivity and love would eliminate the toxins of the world.  I’m willing, are you?

sunflower

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