We've been talking about nature all week, and today I'm sharing some thoughts.
This double azalea bloom started blooming as all the other ones on the bush started falling off from the heavy rains. It has stayed there ever since. It's perseverance has been amazing and something to wonder at.
Miss Grace and I have been discussing this bloom all week, as a symbol of how no matter what, if you have strength, you can survive and hold your head up.
There have been times this past month when Miss Grace has felt blue, as she has has SO SO SO much to learn switching dance school- she has to relearn 5 dances for competition, that she already knew. Then she learned 3 figure dances, 1 ceili dance and another performance piece. Then they found out that they would be performing at a major stage, as part of a Gulf Coast music spectacular focusing on the best of the arts. And that meant more pieces. Then there are the movements from each dance, she has never learned and is trying to catch up on.
Whew.
I don't think I could keep up at all. But Miss Grace haas been questioning herself because she hasn't picked up EVERYTHING immediately. For the first time, she doesn't feel 100% on top of her dancing, and that got her questioning herself.
She didn't see what I saw- that like the azalea, she was standing strong and proud. Here steps are higher, louder, more sure, and the things the judges had deducted from her scores seem to be disappearing. To me, THAT is her strength. She has blossomed and is lit from within, by her new confidence in herself.
So when she started feeling down, I had to remind her about that azalea that kept standing, kept blooming, and didn't give up. That's always been how she has handled life, and just because she's in a different environment, it's doesn't mean she has to stop!
She suffered from the flu this past week after our trip to Jackson, but I saw that confidence come back, when suddenly she started dancing around the house, and becoming excited about her upcoming performances again. She's beginning to see the rewards coming her way and now while she still misses competition (mandated 6 months off when yo transfer schools), shes thrilled at how her dancing has CHANGED and grown, and she's thrilled with the changes. Competition isn't the focus now, it's the DANCING. She wants to be the best she can be. And that is a great goal indeed!
And I know with her perseverance of spirit, her goals will be attainable!
Sometimes we need to let nature guide us, so get out there there this weekend- see what nature can teach YOU!
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