A Bloom Is A Promise
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A bloom is a promise, but not a guarantee. It arrives folded in on itself, holding the hope of what is yet to come.
Before color spills out as the flower opens and fragrance fills the air, the bloom is faith in motion. It’s a sign that growth has not given up, even after cold nights, heavy rain, or long waiting.
A bloom promises beauty, but also continuity. It says life is still choosing to unfold. It is the plant’s way of whispering, I survived, and I am ready to become more.
The Promise of Tomorrow:
Every bloom reminds us of a promise of tomorrow: the plant will emerge again after the snow has melted.
In that tender moment, the bloom carries tomorrow within it—petals not yet opened, seeds not yet formed, joy not yet fully seen.
A flower’s bloom is a promise that may or may not come to pass, but hope, as always, springs eternal.
A bloom is like grief in the way it unfolds—slowly, tenderly, and in its own time.
Grief begins much like a bud: tightly closed, heavy with what it carries inside. At first, it holds pain, memories, and love all pressed together, too much to reveal at once. Just as a flower cannot force itself open, grief cannot be rushed. It opens when it is ready.
When a bloom finally opens, it does not erase the struggle that came before it, the storms, the cold, the bending toward light. In the same way, grief does not disappear; it transforms.
What emerges is not the absence of pain, but the presence of love made visible. Each tear is like a petal, shaped by loss yet softened by remembrance.
A bloom promises life because it grew despite what it endured. Grief does the same. It is proof that love existed deeply enough to hurt, and that the heart is still alive enough to open again.
In this way, grief—like a bloom—is not an ending, but a continuation of love finding a new form.
If your grief is overwhelming, then maybe, if you are lucky, it will slowly fade as time passes. Yet no one can be certain of that, because grief, just like a bloom, makes no promises.
Grief Comes & Sits On Your Shoulder:
There is no timetable for grief. It comes and sits upon your shoulder, always there as you wake up tomorrow, and then the day after that.
Loss is being deprived of that which you loved. With each passing day, you hope grief fades just a little so you can put one foot in front of the other and move forward.
Grief often starts as a desolate, colorless state. But memories, like seeds, eventually sprout and bloom, bringing color and feeling back.
And just as petals can fall unexpectedly in a gust of wind, waves of grief and memory can hit without warning.
Grief ebbs and flows like a flower’s opening and closing, softening and tightening in response to light and dark, joy and sorrow.
From a flower’s blooms, I see the future unfolding—springtime after winter. Tree leaves form and take shape; it is a time of resurgence and hope.
Nature awakens, and wildlife leave their winter nests.
Green is the Color of Life:
Green is the color of life, and a bloom is a promise. It promises balance and renewal, that hope springs eternal.
And over a small period of time, blooms become flowers.
“A flower does not use words to announce its arrival to the world; it just blooms.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo
Everything on earth has its own schedule. A bloom is a promise that there will be more tomorrows. And time marches on.
A Bloom Becomes a Flower:
And so it goes. A bloom is a promise; it is grounds for expectations. But a promise is not a surety. It is a shadow of assurance that a bloom may or may not open to the sun, for whatever reason.
Perhaps it was crushed by an animal scurrying away, a hoe that inadvertently chopped it from its stem. Then it is unfortunately flattened, and inevitably it dies.
The Expectation of a Flower:
And so we wait for the bloom of a flower with expectation, but never with certainty. We are not promised an appearance just as we are not promised time on this earth.
But we hope, nevertheless, that we will still be here to witness the blooming of the flower.
It is a humble request.
After the sun sets in the west, darkness will replace it. Then the bloom is still, waiting for the sun to open its petals the following day.
And tomorrow will come, for those of us who are lucky, and nature’s patterns will commence yet again.
“Dusk had fallen,
While the sky was gray,
Red flowers bloomed,
And the yellow fades away,
Night was to fall,
But the sun had to stay,
Moon of fourteen,
For the lover had to pray,
Life gave up hope,
Yet the heart had to say,
Lover wrote a letter,
But the pigeon lost its way.”
― Neymat Khan
A Bloom is Forever a Promise:
If I am fortunate, I will be here to greet you again tomorrow, just as a bloom is forever a promise.
And just as nature dictates, there will, hopefully, be more flowers blooming in my garden for me to enjoy.
Blooms that then fulfill their promises.
“One day you will look back and see that all along, you were blooming.” ― Morgan Harper Nichols
Beautiful and thoughtful piece, Brenda. Without hope, where would we be? My husband always says the light at the end of the tunnel is always there, even if it’s just a pin dot. The light will grow brighter in time.
Like you, I love quotes. Some of my favorites are from the series, Call The Midwife. The writing is exquisite, and I find myself jotting down quotes from the show. One simple one is that life is never without hope. In fact, a main message of the show is about hope, and it always ends with an uplifting message.
Brenda,
just heard a story on the teenager who shot and killed the shoppers in Buffalo.
He was asked a question in class; “What do you want to do after retirement?’
He replied to murder people and then commit suicide. His teacher immediately contacted authorities and he was placed in a mental health facility for observation, and later said he only wrote that to get out of doing the assignment. His Mother went on to say her son trapped a cat in their garage; beat it to death with a baseball bat and beheaded it with a machete! She helped him bury the cat in their yard. He brags the only reason he was able to buy a gun was he lied and his family looked the other way!
Where are the authorities looking into his Mom and others? If, going forward everyone is armed and everyone is able to protect themselves and family the tide will turn.
A few years ago I was shopping at Costco in Tumwater Wa. next to a Walmart. A criminal with a gun shot at several people and tried to carjack others. A pastor with a concealed/carry gun was able to shoot him and saved countless lives. Until you have seen this in person, you can’t know the terror!
Susan
Susan, so sorry you had that happen to you. I was just sick thinking of what you just wrote. How can a human act like that? I can’t imagine those poor people suffering in Ukraine and I just can’t believe what is happening in our country. So sad.
Being from Canada, our view is less guns, not more. It is not lawful in Canada to carry a weapon, unless hunting or at a gun range. The thought of every Tom, Dick, Henry or Susie walking the streets or stores or church with a concealed weapon in their pocket or purse is horrifying. As well, in Canada it is a crime to possess a prohibited weapon, such as automatic firearms, firearms that can hold a magazine with more than 6 bullets. I was always surprised when an American crossed the border into Canada and was in possession of little “lady” gun in a purse, or automatic weapons in their glove compartment or under the seat. They would be arrested, guns seized and held in custody for a bail hearing. Upon release, after putting up cash bail in the $1000.00’s (no bail bondsmen in Canada), they are deported, only allowed to return for trial. Upon conviction is an automatic $10,000.00 fine and forfeiture of the weapons or alternatively a 3 year prison term. Unfortunately our drug gang members do have prohibited weapons, smuggled into Canada for their purchase and use, usually to kill each other, but unfortunately innocent bystanders have been killed in the crossfire in the streets. Despite that, no one in Canada wants more guns.
Oh my, Susan…we shopped that Costco and Walmart too, tho thankfully not that day…we felt so fortunate that those brave men saved who knows how many other people. Often I have found in life that it is experience that divides people. I for instance, simply cannot imagine that ANYONE would drink and drive, nor for that matter, maybe not ever drink alcohol (as is my choice) once they lost a beloved sibling to a drunk driver. MAKES IT VERY DIFFERENT WHEN YOU ARE A VICTIM!! No one would ever want me on a jury for such a case believe me…I believe in the death penalty for certain crimes…that and rape and murder are big ones. Because when you take the life of another…or ruin it to where they live in misery and pain for the rest of their days, then quite simply you have no right to exist.
A lovely, meditative piece, Brenda. I think that with so much violence everywhere in the world today we must somehow try to balance it out by filling our lives with love and beauty as much as possible. Not to stick our head in the sand and pretend all is well everywhere but to do whatever small things we can to alleviate the suffering and to give weight to the positive and lovely in our own lives. It’s tricky to maintain the balance, but so essential to not fall into despair where we are no use to ourselves or anyone else. That is the philosophy I try to live by each day, sometimes with more success than others. And I try to remember to be thankful for all the good things in my life as well. That’s my contribution for today. Thanks for sharing your tho’ts, Brenda. Tomorrow is another day; may it be filled with love and peace for all of us.
I agree with everything you wrote. Our daughter worries about our grandsons and I must remind her to make her home a place of peace.
So much grief and sadness going on in the world right now! Ppl are fighting back like that preacher that hit the guy with a chair as he was reloading his gun! Then the others hogtied him while waiting for the cops to arrive!
He was in his 60’s and the ppl he was shooting at were in 70’s and 80’s! They just finished mass and had a brunch for a preacher that was moving soon! Unfortunately one person died and others got shot! Way too much violence going on!
The govt should make ppl jump thru hoops to get a gun or to keep their guns just like their licenses! That’s my opinion anyway! They should also have a stricter law about ppl going into other ppl’s homes and stealing from them!
It happened to me yrs ago while I was at work and it made me feel violated! My daughter came home with a friend and they heard someone in her room and ran to her friends to call the cops!
I stayed home the next day bc they took my private # planning to come back! The next day they called but my daughter grabbed the phone b4 I did!
They knew they were being watch so they didn’t come back! Scumbags!
So sorry you were robbed. Yes, I imagine you would feel violated. And the violence in this country is way, WAY out of hand!
Your words resonate with me thinking of the 10 people’s families who were killed in Buffalo while grocery shopping by a young man with hatred for black people. How awful for these folks grandchildren to experience grief in such a tragic way. Old people die of old age, not shot by a rifle while getting their groceries. Every day we feel grief for others in our worlds, that is if we chose to feel humanity and compassion.
It should not be THAT easy to get a gun, in my opinion. I wish they’d realize this and do something about it.
Lovely 😊 & such true spoken words.
Sure wish my brain was more of a computer!
Possibly then, I could remember all these 🌟 marvelous quotes!! ✨️
Well, it’s no secret that I love quotes!
I read the quote by Henry David Thoreau and recognized myself in his words, I definitely ‘heard a difference drummer’ about 35 years ago. I was in the library reading a book on vivisection, I was horrified that we did these unthinkable things to animals.
I loved all animals but still ate them! I was quick to change to a vegetarian diet and then 12 year ago to a plant based diet.
I ‘did not keep pace with my companions’ for which I am glad now, I have peace within myself and have found myself in the company of like minded people.
The path you took sounds both healthy and happy.
It’s true. Life doesn’t give us promises. Only hope. And if we’re lucky, something to look forward to. (Like reading your posts everyday 😉) As for grief, I guess if we didn’t experience grief, how would we learn to appreciate the good?
This is true.