So I had a thought as I looked at my peppers for the ump-teenth time today. Seems I have been waiting all summer for them to grow and turn from the slightly bitter dark green kind to the sweet red kind that I use in my salads.

It occurred to me that I am like this pepper.  Sure, there is nothing wrong with the green pepper, it is edible and grows beautifully in the sun.  Yet, I want the vegetable when it is fully red and as sweet as it gets. It is a lesson in patience and letting things be as they are meant to be. I, like the pepper, are a work in progress.

We all grow on our own vine, soak up nutrients as we grow.  Learning patience and fighting off things that could stump or inhibit our own growth.  Gardening then, is like a metaphor for following our path, getting what we need in life, pruning as needed and finally…Enjoying the fruits of our labor. We are always growing.  Always learning and being tested…Often by ourselves and our own inner critics, thoughts, and doubts.

We transform and we grow. When we are fully open to receiving what is in store for us, our garden flourishes.  We choose when we are ready to move on. We are all different and all the same. We are like a pepper, with so many seeds inside waiting to be planted and begin again.

One of my favorite quotes by Lao Tzu: “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”

Wishing you all peace and taking time to do what sets your soul in bloom!

~Michelle