Remember The Flower
A Heart-Warming Insight From Thomas M Sterner's The Practicing Mind
Author Note:
I am taking a break for the whole month of March. I need time and space to breathe and then organise my thoughts to give you more value.
Rubina’s Bojra is going on a sabbatical from Sunday, February 27th 2022.
And will be back on Monday, April 4th 2022.
All of us put conditions to our happiness.
When I weigh X kgs, then I'll be happy.
When I publish my book, then I'll be successful.
When I retire, then I'll travel.
We are always waiting for everything to be perfect to finally enjoy ourselves. But that's a false hope we wish for.
Happiness is not something far away that is only achieved when you succeed in some way.
Every moment can bring us happiness if we learn how to look at it.
In his book The Practicing Mind, author Thomas M Sterner wants you to ask yourself the following question -
At what point in a flower's life, from seed to full bloom, does it reach perfection?
Is it when it's a seed and is full of potential?
Is it when it's put in the soil, the space where it can thrive and grow?
Is it when it pokes out of the soil, a little green nub showing signs of life and miracle?
Is it when it flowers, finally becoming what it was destined to become?
Is it when it lives its life and goes back to the soil, nourishing it for other seeds?
At what point is the flower perfect?
The answer:
It is always perfect.
It is perfect at being wherever it is and at whatever stage of growth it is in at that moment.
It is perfect as a seed because that's what it is supposed to be at that moment.
It is perfect when placed in the soil because now it can hope to try and become what it's meant to be.
When it pokes out and is only green in colour, that doesn't mean it's a bad seed. There's still potential there.
When it fully bloom and become a flower, it is not perfect because of its beauty. It is perfect because it blooms as what it truly is. The flower doesn't feel jealous of other flowers. It is focused on minding its own business and living its truth.
A flower never says that it'll be happy when it finally blooms. Nor is it irritated and frustrated of the struggle it has to go through to sprout. Nor does the seed want to become a flower at this very moment. It's only through the nourishment of water, soil, sun, and time that it will bloom.
But, as the author discusses in the book, these silly notions are what we carry with us every day.
We know where we are right now and where we want to go or what we want to achieve. And then we decide that we can't be happy or satisfied until we reach that endpoint.
Such thinking is working against us and our nature.
So next time you wonder why you haven't already achieved your goal yet, REMEMBER THE FLOWER.
Just like the flower, you are perfect and more than enough where you are and what you are doing.
Free yourself from the unnecessary pressures and expectations.
Focus on giving the present moment your all.
That is where real happiness lies.
I would highly recommend you read the book The Practicing Mind by Thomas M Sterner. It is helping me become friends with my creativity and enjoy every moment of it.