New Motto

I was reading the Ensign the other day and I came across an article titled The Prison and the Dandelion. The article tells a story about a young lds missionary who is placed in an area that has 4 prisons. He has to overcome his own attitude towards the area that he is placed in, because he realizes that with his poor attitude he is building another prison within himself.

Below are a few excerpts from the article. You can read more Here or by clicking on the links above.

"Apparently I expressed some of these struggles in my letters to family and friends. In response, I received a letter that breathed spring into my winter. “Bloom where you’re planted,” it said. This phrase helped me realize that I couldn’t blame adverse circumstances for the prison walls I felt rising around me. Instead, I was building the town’s newest prison with my own attitude."


"I also had an unexpected accomplice in my prison break: a dandelion. Before my mission, I spent a summer doing lawn care, and dandelions had been my enemy. One morning in the mission field, I walked outside and made peace. Surrounded by patches of late snow was a single dandelion. Instead of blooming in rich soil, it shone radiantly from a crack in the sidewalk. “Bloom where you’re planted,” I thought, surprised to find myself admiring the very flower I’d held in contempt."

I felt like this article served as a great reminder to us all. You don't have to be a missionary or even a member of the LDS church to be able to "bloom where you are planted". We are in charge of our own experience here on earth. No matter what we are given we can find a way to make the best of it. 

I found this image on infectious.com  

~I added the text. 

I love how this image embodies the meaning of blooming where you are planted. This image will be posted on my sidebar as a reminder (at least until I find a new motto to live by). :)