finding a hopeful message in the folds of a flower blossom

For my evening dose of daily escapism I started to watch “The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart” and was fascinated with the idea that every flower carries a secret message. Has anyone else watched this series and enjoyed it?

I immediately popped online and researched what each flower in The Antique Botanist collection meant, and discovered that the blue Bearded Iris represents ‘hope and faith’.

I feel like we could all use a little hope at the moment. But I also recognise that hope isn't a passive sentiment that is given to us by others, it comes from within. If I didn't have a reservoir of hope to draw from, I would never be able to shake off that crappy day or week (and there have been a few lately) and believe there's better days ahead. Hope gives me the ability to think "Hold in there, you can get through this, it'll get better."
And hope is also the foundation of resilience - that ability to hold in there even when things are shitty. The determination to slog a way through even when the path is overrun with prickly wattle and blackberries and (if you're up here in the Ranges) probably heaps of leeches. Resilience is built upon hope, and strengthened every time we trip, learn, laugh, get back up and keep going.

Maybe I can find some lovely blue Bearded Iris to pop in a vase. I can look upon them and be hopeful. I can look upon them and remember all the things that have made me stronger. I can look upon them and know that my hope and resilience will continue to get me through, and that everything will probably be OK (I hope).

meg.