As I walked across the frosty grass Easter morning I was amazed at how many dandelions stood proudly and defiantly in my path.  Ever since my childhood, dandelions have always caught my attention and fascinated me.  I remember as a child, plucking them very carefully and then lifting them up to my eyes to examine each of the tiny parachutes.  Next, I would take a deep breath and then send each of the tiny seeds soaring through the atmosphere into outer space.  I loved to watch each one slowly float back to earth.  It seemed like a miracle to have such a perfect childhood plaything growing wild all around our Alabama home.

        It wasn’t until I was an adult and trying to achieve a perfect lawn when I learned that the dandelion is really labeled a weed.  I can remember fighting dandelions all weekend, and late Monday afternoon there they are, pert as all get out in full and gorgeous bloom, pretty as can be, thriving as only dandelions can in the face of such adversity.  Of course, if dandelions were rare and fragile, people would knock themselves out to pay $14.95 a plant, raise them by hand in greenhouses, and form dandelion societies and all that. But they are everywhere and don’t need us and kind of do what they please. So we call them “weeds” and murder them at every opportunity.

        Now I ask you, what is a weed?  Is not a weed just a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered?  Is not a weed just an unloved flower?  If dandelions were hard to grow, they would be most welcome on any lawn.  But since they are common in any yard we fight them at every turn.  The miracles of nature do not seem miracles because they are so common.  If no one had ever seen a flower, even a dandelion would be the most startling event in the world.  Every moment of this strange and lovely life from dawn to dusk is a miracle. Somewhere, always, a rose is opening its petals to the dawn. Somewhere, always, a flower is fading in the dusk.  Miracles are not contrary to nature but only contrary to what we know about nature.

        The truth is every day miracles are happening all around us; we are just too busy or lazy to notice.  Every sunrise, every sunset, every birth, every act of kindness is just another small miracle to those who take the time to see them for what they truly are.  If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.  If we only had the ability to see the beauty surrounding us it would take our breath away.  Today, let us hold sacred every experience we are blessed to have.  Let us look for the good growing around us; let us appreciate and value the blessings of this day because each one is miraculous and filled with wonder.

Something to think about:

• One person's weed is another person's wildflower.

• Some people believe in miracles but do not expect to see them happen today.  The ultimate miracle of love is this—that love is given to us to give to one another.

• We can only appreciate the miracle of a sunrise if we have waited in the darkness.

• All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seed of today.

• Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have.

• Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence.

• The question is not what a man can scorn, or disparage, or find fault with, but what he can love and value and appreciate.

Thankful for my dandelions
Rickey Moore