Hope Blooming

Wednesday, July 19, 2023

Love this Key to Radiating Hope …

I just came across this quote:

“Where flowers bloom so does hope”—
Lady Bird Johnson       

You may remember Lady Bird Johnson’s
Special project while wife of Texas governor—
Championing planting native wildflowers along Texas roads.

She planted Hope with those beauties.
I experienced that in 1999
While biking CA to FL.

That route means that you bike across Texas,
For days.
You know that Texas is big.
I know that it is even bigger when traveling by bicycle.
We had head-winds the entire crossing.

Weather was hot.
Riding into the wind made 
Every mile, flat or hilly, even harder.

Dust storms so thick & fierce
We could barely move forward.
Every little space filled with blowing grit,
Up our noses, in our ears, inside bike clothes.
Clogging all the links in our chains.

Blowing so hard our tiny van-kitchen,
Couldn’t cook an evening meal.

We filed into small motel-connected beige-colored cafe,
Where we ate beige-colored food,
While looking out a window at beige-colored air.

Totally depressing!
Until we came to where flowers bloomed
Along roadsides.
Acres of flowers, beautiful colors, radiating hope.

Wind still blew in our faces,
Pedaling was still really hard.
Yet somehow with the flowers—
Miles and miles of beautiful flowers,
Bike travel across enormous windy stretches
Was more possible.

She, Lady Bird, was right,
“Where flowers bloom, so does hope.” 

Hugs.
Lin

Limerick:

Biking with head-winds for hours,
I know of restorative powers.
Blooms do give me hope,
A way I can cope.
The power of beautiful flowers.