Dahlias - Inner Strength

Softness can be a kind of courage.

In the language of flowers, Dahlias can represent many things; eternal love, kindness, and inner strength. Bold and layered, Dahlias remind us that beauty can be both soft and strong. They bloom like a declaration. I'm still here, still beautiful, even after the storm.

We all go through periods of grief. For me, 10 years of infertility and multiple miscarriages made it hard to find the motivation to go through my day-to-day activities. I had always been a person who noticed how blue the sky was or the perfect shade of pink on a rose. But during that period of my life, it was like walking through a world of gray. 

What I wanted more than anything was to hear from a person who had been there. Someone who fully understood the pain I felt and had come out the other side.

What I found instead, was my own inner strength.

It started small, forcing myself to name three things I was grateful for each day. They were usually very basic. The sky, my limbs, my ability to breathe. Gradually, I started adding more detail. The butterfly I saw while sitting in traffic. The smell of salt in the air by the beach. The warmth of the sun on my skin.

Surfing helped me feel connected to something greater than my sorrow. Birdwatching gave me little moments of pure delight. Photography helped me focus on beautiful details easily missed when we rush by. All the while, my inner strength kept getting stronger, pushing me forward.

The power of play and creativity is immense. Blooming doesn't have to mean having it all together. It can be opening to the light, one petal at a time.