May’s Word of the Month: Bloom

I like words that are both nouns and verbs. The trees and flowers are in full bloom. My life, since I quit drinking, is blooming. When I think of the word bloom, I picture delicate buds opening, patience rewarded, and beauty released. This month, I want to live in full bloom.

I changed the tagline of my blog to: life giving over life taking. That’s what the shift from wine (life-taking) to water (life-giving) did for me. It ended the days of regret and wishing I had those moments and memories back and started a journey of presence and life-affirming moments. In the early days of this journey, I felt the sun on my parched, tightly closed petals. Gradually, my guard petals loosened, driven by a quiet radiance inside. Cautiously, I started to open up, to share, to connect, to follow the sun and gratefully soak up the life-giving water offered in endless abundance. I responded to the warmth, and firmly planted, I bloomed.

Now, life is not all radiance and sun rays. There are lots of overcast moments, wind storms that leave me shaken, and of course, the cold, dark, nights. But the overcast, windy, dark times are so much easier to withstand now that I’m not a hollow shell, but an anchored spirit. Bring on the dark; I’ll shine my light. And I’ll bloom, in spite of it all.

In this world, it is not easy to take up space. To make sense of the mentality. To be a single bright blossom on a cactus rather than a tightly knit cluster of wildflowers. The cluster celebrates the big sports win with bottomless margaritas; the cactus flower refreshes herself with sparkling lemon water. A wildflower on social media celebrates her cancer victory with shots of tequila while the cactus flower (secretly) shakes her head. So disconnected and confused sometimes. But grateful, all the time.

Yes, I want to live in full bloom. To light up the room with my words and beautiful music. To capture awe-inspiring sights with my camera. To travel and be still. To look, and notice, and wonder, and take it all in. To remember, and savor and be full.

This month, I am blooming bright, no matter how big the darkness, or how wild the flowers… This month, it’s my turn to bring forth and offer up my bloom.

Here are some of my favorite quotes about blooming:

“Bloom where you are planted, and sow where you are fed.”

Stella Payton

“Through sun and rain, you will bloom all the same.”

Morgan Harper Nichols

“If you feel lost, disappointed, hesitant, or weak, return to yourself, to who you are, here and now and when you get there, you will discover yourself, like a lotus flower in full bloom, even in a muddy pond, beautiful and strong.” 

Masaru Emoto