Sunday Morning Positive Perks from your Sassy Small Town Missus

Posted 6 September 2020 at 8:00 am

The Unbending Faith of the Sunflower

If you clicked into my Mid-Week Photo Perk on my blog site on Aug. 19, you were able to see some evening photos I took at Stokoe Farms in Scottsville.

This trip left me wondering … what are all these buds looking at? If you notice, the vast majority of these blossoms are all facing the same direction, away from the sun.

Puzzled, it left me needing to do some research, since I always believed that sunflower blossoms followed the sun. On this night, it seemed to me that the blossoms were turning their backs on the sun as the sun was setting.

Are they in protest? Maybe it is a silent protest, a peaceful protest. Stand by, folks. I am going to Google for some answers.

Okay, I am back. I truly learned a lot. In a nutshell, sunflowers are human. Well, maybe not truly, but their life cycle behavior mirrors our own! What I am about to share with you is quite fascinating. It is how the sunflower’s life mirrors our own as we age, and with great purpose.

It turns out sunflowers have an internal life clock. The young sunflowers pop out of their soil beds each morning and say hello to the sun. Throughout the day, as the sun moves, the young buds follow the sun in the sky, gaining strength so they may become mature buds – much like young children who need sun to flourish and are eager to greet the day.

An interesting thing happens when sunflowers reach adulthood. They stop following the Sun. They have work to do. In the morning, they react strongly to the sun. As the day rolls on, their movement with the sun slows down.

Yep, I get it, Mr. and Mrs. Sunflower. Sometimes we adults slow down a little as the day wanes on. When you are working hard and the heat is upon you, it can slow you down a bit.

What is their job, you may wonder? Pollination. Those big mature buds create a lot of heat, and the bees just love all that heat and are attracted to the buds for pollination.

Too bad the adult sunflowers didn’t have the ability to take a midday nap. I find that helps keep me moving with the sun. So I am glad to know all of this, because I hate to think of such a beautiful blossom like the sunflower being unhappy and organizing a protest against the sun.

The thing that is magical about the sunflower is that, as it matures, it becomes so beautiful; and as it fades, it leaves behind tiny seeds for rebirth. A legacy and lesson for future generations, just like people. Spiritually, sunflowers represent worship and faithfulness, always seeking truth and light.

Faith is a powerful thing. Faith that the sun will rise each day, and that if we work hard, hopefully it will bring us a life of light and purpose. A lesson to be taken from the sunflower.

So, as your life matures, do not bend. Keep your stalk strong like a sunflower. Greet each day with eager anticipation, and serve a purpose that will bring you and others happiness.

To see the bud saying good night, visit my blog live online at https://www.positiveperksposts.com and catch up on Weekly Photo Perks and past Sunday posts. Like and share your comments.

Debbie London