There's a moment when the sunflower is in full bloom when I just want to hold it perfectly still and cradle it from the ravages of time, protecting it so carefully before the first autumn frost and battering winds nip and slash the perfect stem and magnificent flower.
I can't protect it of course, so instead I cringe a little as I watch it writhe and quietly wither away.
I hold the thought in my mind that soon, once the fallen leaves from the deciduous forest giants have long since lost their crunch and are well trodden and crumbled into the soil, spring will come again and I can replant a sunflower seed and watch with wonder as nature does its thing.
One can only provide the cane to support the sapling as it grows wide and strong. One can only provide nutritious fertilized soil to ensure it has the best possible start.
One can only position it in a place where the sun beats down on it, and it's sheltered from the prevailing winds.
We do what we can, but we can't save the flower from every possible threat to it's survival.
Trust that there is a strength throughout the natural world. A hidden, deep, inexplicable strength which we need to trust runs through the sunflower and each and every one of us.
"People protect what they love." - Jacques Yves Cousteau
