Fear? No! Perseverance!

Star Magnolia

“Of the many interesting facts about the magnolia flower, the most striking one is that it is a very old flower. In fact, there are fossils dating back 20 million years that show that the flower has been gracing Earth since the very beginning of time, so to say. The magnolia is also a very tough, hard flower, unlike other delicate flowers. This is owing to the fact that it has had to adapt to changing climactic and geological conditions in order to survive, and it is precisely due to this feature that the flower represents endurance, eternity, and long life.” _ Buzzle.

The Magnolia means Endurance or Perseverance.

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear — not absence of fear.” – Mark Twain

Why do I link endurance and perseverance to courage and fear?  Because, I went to a presentation by Beth Fitzgerald Allen of DIY Hip Chicks today.  She is an inspiration and her message of “flushing” fear was so motivating.  The history and meaning of the Magnolia reminded me of Beth’s presentation.  Beth stated ” Courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to move forward any way” – reminding me of Mark Twain (above).

  We all must endure, persevere, and push forward despite of our fears if we are going to accomplish our goals and achieve success and joy.

Japanese Snowbell

“There are no greater treasures than the highest human qualities such as compassion, courage and hope. Not even tragic accident or disaster can destroy such treasures of the heart.”

 -Daisaku Ikeda

 

 

Courage

Compassion

Hope

Hope, Purity, and Atonement

“May the love hidden deep inside your heart find the love waiting in your dreams. May the laughter that you find in your tomorrow wipe away the pain you find in your yesterdays.” – Unknown

Atonement

Reconciliation

Hope

Purity

The above four words are associated with the Star of Bethlehem flower in the Victorian Language of Flowers.  When I saw the quote above I felt that it somehow linked the four words; atonement and  reconciliation of yesterdays and hope for pure love in the days to come.

Hope and Purity

Atonement

Forsaken Friday

The past two days have been extremely busy and I, unfortunately, have not been able to focus on my blog.  The good news is I’ve been shooting and adding to my ever growing collection of images.  The images I am posting today are of an anemone in my garden.  Only one has bloomed so far.  Once the others open, I’ll photograph them as a bouquet, but this individual flower was too pretty not to share.  The title of the blog was chosen because, a bit of flower trivia here, in the Victorian Era the definition of anemones was “forsaken”.  The irony of this is that due to the location of this plant in my garden, I had forgotten about it until I rounded the corner this afternoon and was pleasantly surprised to see it smiling at me.  I suppose you could say it was temporarily forgotten, but no forsaken.

Flowers on the Roadsides of Buck’s County

“The tender words we spoke to one another are stored in the secret heart of heaven and one day, like rain, they will fall and spread and our mystery will grow green all over the earth.” – Rumi

If words could fall like rain, I would want them to grow and look like the flowers I see adorning the roadsides during Spring in Buck’s County.

Yes, it is the same winged creature from my post on Saturday, just on different flowers. It has no bias for colors.

This week in Buck’s County you don’t drive far without seeing these flowers alongside the roads. They are so cheery and catch my eye every time I pass by them. Wouldn’t it be nice to rest in a field of them and day dream under the warm rays of the sun?

 

Love is…..

“Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence.” – Eric Fromm

Thank you to my dear husband who so very thoughtfully and lovingly brought fresh flowers home for me yesterday evening.  I enjoyed them all day today.  Now, my readers, you get to enjoy them too!