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His Love-Flower |
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One day a young man decided to travel by foot to the far North Pole. It was going to be a long and arduous journey (life) but he felt confident that he could do it. He prepared himself the best he could and headed out on his adventure. In the beginning all went well, there was an abundance of beautiful scenery and he had plenty of supplies. The further North he travelled the beautiful scenery began to diminish and the days became colder. What started to appear were rocks, only a few at first, then more and more. The days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months, and as far as the young man could see were rocks. To make matters worse - all the rocks seemed to look alike. The remoteness combined with the never changing rock landscape was having a negative effect on him. He began to feel like he was the only one in the world, and began to feel very lonely. He had not planned on this. Looking around all he could see were rocks and more rocks (walking-dead). One day while resting the young man noticed a spectacular sight. Just a few feet from where he was sitting was a single flower in full blossom (a sunflower). The man marveled at the sight. It was indeed a sight to behold, here amongst all these rocks was something thriving. He sat there all day beside the flower and in time he noticed that the flower's bloom turned with the sun as it made its way across the sky. The man too, understood why, because he too felt the sun's warmth on his body, and it felt good. They spent the rest of the day together, basking in the sun's warmth, re-energizing. The young adventurer decided to camp there for the night. That evening the stars began to appear, one after another. He felt as if they were signaling to him, letting him know that they were there for him. The North Star seemed to shine the brightest of them all. The adventurer felt a sudden peace come over him and for the first time in a long time he did not feel alone. That night he slept better than he had in a very long time. "Life is good!" he thought to himself. Amongst all this ruggedness was some beauty, he just had to open his eyes to see it. In the morning he woke up, made and ate breakfast from his dwindling supplies and was about to once again commence his trip. Looking at the flower for the last time he thought about picking it and taking it with him. The flower was a precious gift from the universe. It had survived every harsh winter only to bloom with each succeeding spring. Upon picking the flower, it would have only died, so he left it where he had found it, in its natural habitat. The young adventurer pressed on, and in time he ran out of supplies. To make things worse he was still amongst all these rocks. With the lack of nourishing food and the long hours of travelling (work and stress) he became very tired and weak. Then, one day in exhaustion, he collapsed. He thought that he just couldn't go on. With the neglecting of his physical, mental, and spiritual health, he'd become a rock. After a short time the young man opened his eyes and what do you suppose lay before him - the flower. In that moment he realized that he had lost his way, and had been traveling in circles (rat race). He also realized that if he had picked the flower earlier, he would not have come across it a second time, and would have probably died way out there on that rocky tundra. The flower, from just "being" there, had saved his life. That night he decided he would use the "light" of the stars to guide him back home. The years passed, and our young adventurer had now grown to become a mature and confident man. He awoke one morning to find himself laying in his bed in the comfort of his home next to the woman he loved and admired very much (his sunflower). He smiled as he recalled that first day they had met. And she had asked him, "If you're into personal growth, health and wellness, I'd like to get to know you?"
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Timothy E. Stevenson 1995© Revised: November 2015
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