Dandelions May Look Like They're Falling Apart, but They're Actually up for Something Even Better5/21/2017 Are there any flowers you like? Roses? Tulips? Cherry blossom? Orchids? Do you like them because they are colorful? Or is it because they smell good? These are undeniable very beautiful flowers, but my favorite one is dandelion. When people see a dandelion, they may think it's just another wildflower which isn't good-looking, is fragile and weak. But no, dandelions aren't weak even though they may look like they're falling apart. Everything You Don't Know About Dandelions Do you know where the name "dandelion" comes from? It's from French "dent de lion", which means the lion's tooth. The flower is being called the lion's tooth because of its coarsely-toothed leaves. The dandelion is the only flower that represents the sun, moon and stars. The yellow flower resembles the sun, the puff ball resembles the moon and the dispersing seeds are the stars. Every part of the dandelion is useful. Its root, leaves and flower can be used for food and medicine.
Dandelions have one of the longest flowering season, and their parachute seeds can be carried by wind as many as 5 miles from their origin. They are also sun-loving flowers. They grow freely wherever they find a bit of earth and a place in the sun. How I Fell in Love with the Wildflower Where I live, it's not easy to see dandelions. But I still sometimes see them out in the countryside. I still remember the first time I saw dandelions. My first impression on them was, wow this cotton-like thing is cute! And as a child, I just wanted to blow all the seeds away. As I grow up, I started to understand the nature of dandelions, and I just can't help falling in love with this free-spirited flower. I used to be quite an inflexible person. It's difficult for me to let go of things because I can't really handle the feeling of things getting out of control. I loved to have everything planned and well-arranged. And I would be very upset if anything unplanned happened. I didn't understand that life never really came with a perfect plan. Some years ago, I had a relationship with a guy whom I loved. We treated each other's family as our own family. We planned about our future. I also put a lot of effort in the relationship, hoping our lives would go the way we planned. But no, things didn't go as planned, we broke up. I was really depressed. I could cry anywhere at any time. I also lost almost 10 pounds in a month. A year ago, I got really stressful at work, so stressful that I couldn't sleep well and I couldn't eat well. I love my career as an editor. I had always done my very best to get good topics and articles reached my readers. It had always been smooth and readers loved the content. But I got lost when I got stuck facing a challenge — a change in the media market shattered the way I thought and the way I worked on content. I started to doubt my ability of being a good writer and editor, I started to doubt if I was passionate enough for my career, I started to wonder if the career was my true calling or if I was only too proud to quit. My mind was a mess during my very lost period. I talked with friends about my struggles, and thought about my life quietly whenever I was alone. I also read plenty of books about stress, change, growth, and life. It took me some time to finally realize what was messing with my mind — my will to have everything in control, my fear of uncertainties. I wondered why dandelions could be so fearless. Dandelions are so light in weight that they can fly to anywhere far away from their origin and start their lives all over again. It almost seems no effort to them to let go, nothing can really weigh them down. They also seem to be fearless even though they aren't sure where they're going to land with the flying seeds. If dandelions were afraid of uncertainties, they would just cling to their stem and would never grow and become something better. If dandelion seeds had fear that weigh them down, they would never go too far away. If dandelions were afraid to change, they'd just stay in the same place and never be free. I learned to live like a dandelion. My urge to hold things on tight hurt myself. My unwillingness to let go of what can't be controlled stopped me from growing. I fell, I learned, and I picked myself back up. I started to live like a dandelion. "Hold tenderly that which you cherish, for it is precious and a tight grip may crush it. Do not let the fear of dropping it cause you to hold it too tightly. The chances are, it's holding you too." — Bob Alberti I've learned to always expect the unexpected to happen. I've learned to do my very best and just let the rest be. I've learned that I don't need everything to be constant, consistent, and under my control. (Because that's no fun!) I've also learned that when I let go a little bit, I'm happier and I actually grow into someone better. |
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