. . . sunflowers continue to bring joy!

Do you ever feel “off” in your day…in your body…in the events that transpire between waking in the morning and lying down at day’s end?

That was me today. Sitting down to get a head start on my blog post for this week, I drew a blank. Dullness was all I had to offer.

What can I write that will change my mood today?

Immediately I knew.

Sunflowers.

For how many years has sunflower medicine brought relief? Like a ray of sun breaking through an annoying fog, a glimpse of the bright yellow face of a sunflower makes me smile.

The medicine I refer to is not in a container of pills with an expiration date. It is simply the balm of beauty and innocence offered by sunflowers.

Real sunflowers; artful reproductions of sunflowers; professional renderings of sunflowers: Faith Ringold’s print, The Sunflower Quilting Bee at Arles; a four-year-old’s painting of a sunflower; the sunflower fall wreath on my front door—all a secret elixir for my spirit.

The motif of sunflowers is a throughline in my life despite the fact that I am one who gets bored with furniture arrangements; continually moving pieces around to get a new view. Sunflowers have accompanied me over 42 years (and counting) with no hint of boredom in sight. How is it that I never tire of the bright yellow flower with its dark brown, black, green or yellow face?

O mirasol, bright ray of sunshine, you brighten my heart and my life…

Finding joy in simple things is a medicine that comes without a price tag or a prescribed dose. The ocean, garden, and the world of art and music each hold unique medicine to offer ourselves in times of melancholy, boredom, or when we’re in a funk. What brings you joy?

Have you taken your medicine today?

If not, perhaps a walk in your neighborhood, a drive to the ocean, a listen to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons—or a sunflower—may be just what you need.