The Lesson of the Weed-Sunflowers (part 1)

For the past several years, these weeds have tried to grow in my back yard.  They start to pop up in late spring - and ONLY in the spring.  They grow slowly (compared to most weeds) and they have these big, ugly, green leaves growing off a thick, somewhat fuzzy center stalk.  I mean, goodness, they don't even have the decency to be small, quiet, inconspicuous and somewhat grassy like the rest of the weeds!  No, these have to be the big, ugly, flamboyant species of weed; the equivalent of the crazy family member everyone tries to avoid or keep hidden from the rest of the world. 

We've never let them grow more than a foot or two before pulling them.  This year we just hadn't had time for weed-pulling and before we knew it, there were about a dozen of these monstrosities blighting my back yard (okay, so the yard was never an Eden to begin with but that's beside the point.  These things just seemed to scream, "REDNECKS LIVE HERE!" ... no offense to Rednecks.)  

One weed in particular seemed to be growing faster than the others.  This particular weed happened to be situated across the yard, outside the kitchen window that is over my kitchen sink.  In other words, the one kitchen window that gets looked out the most.  And this hideous big weed was directly in my line of vision every time I looked out the window - which was often. 

When it was about three feet high, I finally said to the husband (hoping he'd take a hint and pull it), "So, how big do those things get anyway?"  He said, "Oh, I don't know.  Maybe just three feet or so."  Keep in mind it was already "three feet or so", and there was no sign anyone (read: The Husband) was going to pull it anytime soon. 

Days passed and I watched this thing from my kitchen window.  It kept growing.  And growing.  And growing.  I was going to go out and pull the darn thing myself but then I thought, "Why not let it grow, just for experimental purposes.  It's not like anyone else is going to see our backyard, and it would be interesting to know just how tall it will get." 

So this ugly weed and all of its' ugly brothers and sisters kept quietly growing while I continued quietly watching and waiting.

While all of this quiet, ugly growing was going on in my back yard, I was also dealing with some long-ignored ugliness from my own life.  I was quietly changing on the inside.  As part of this process, I spent some time talking to an Intuitive Heart Healer.  During one conversation she said to me, "How do you feel about the color yellow?"  I told her I liked yellow.  For me, yellow is sunshine, yellow is cheerful, positive, happy, comfortable.  We talked about it a little more and then moved on (but not before I committed to painting my walls yellow, which I've since done!). 

About a week after this conversation, I was looking out at the big, ugly weed that was now about five feet tall.  I had begun to feel it was mocking me.  If it could talk, I imagined it would have been saying, "I know you aren't going to cut me down, so I'm just going to keep growing until I take over your entire line of vision, and even your whole back yard!" 

And as I looked at this big, ugly, mocking weed on that particular morning, I noticed .... a flash of yellow.  And that's when my perspective began to change.

....tune in tomorrow to read the rest of the story!