We purchased some sad looking belladonna lily bulbs on special at the local nursery several years ago. We planted them in sunny spot looking forward to late summer blooms taking over that area in six months. Over winter the bulbs store energy from the foliage, but the leaves in the first year were small and lacklustre. No flowers that summer!
Next winter a bit more foliage but the local rabbits started to dig them up. As they are poisonous no leaves were eaten but they caused a bit of disturbance to the bulbs forming underneath. I placed a wire panel over the area to protect them. No blooms that year either.
The following winter I put a little fertilizer around the plants to encourage growth, better but still no blooms that summer. Next year same, a little more fertilizer, a little more leaf growth and I imagined those bulbs underground were filling with stored energy.. but you guessed it, no blooms come the following February-March season.
Mmmm what to do? "Nothing... we have to be patient they'll get there", said the green thumb of the family. Ok.
Finally this late summer I noticed the tiniest little shoots breaking the baked dirt, (these things loved harsh summers) I was so excited to see them emerge and over a few days these flowers magically developed and put on a beautiful show you see in the photo above.
They really are stunning in real life.
Just like our respective journeys in changing our relationship with alcohol, its the small things over time that can have the biggest impact. There might be several ups and downs where you feel you are not making any progress. Perhaps even going backwards.
Where you don't get to see the beauty of what you're doing at the time but even so, you are laying down the foundations for change.
Gaining new knowledge, changing long held beliefs, a bit like me sprinkling a little plant food here and there over time.
You might experience some aha moments where something clicks and you feel a change in your being, like new flower shoots emerging from the baked ground giving you renewed purpose and sense of direction.
The journey may not always be easy at times, but ultimately your patience and perseverance pays off for you and you are rewarded with such beautiful and unexpected gifts...
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