Wondrous Wildflowers

     I’m an Arizona native and, I have to say, I have NEVER seen the wildflowers decorate the desert like they did this spring!  They were everywhere and it was wondrous!
     It made me stop and think.  Has there never been an Arizona spring so grand or did I just completely miss it?  I can’t help but wonder.  Because, as I said, I’ve lived here all of my life and, for most of my life, I’ve hated it!  I couldn’t stand the desert, the cactus, the heat (still not a fan), the dirt, the stucco houses, the city...  I couldn’t wait to get away to some other greener, cooler, more glorious state with trees that change colors and houses that deliver character and charm.  I spent my life dreaming of living somewhere else and I missed the magnificence that was right here in front of me.  This state is absolutely gorgeous!  There is no place quite like it and I just never saw it! 
     Do you do that?  Do you miss the gloriousness that is right before your eyes because you’re too busy imagining life’s greener pastures?  Do you focus on what could be instead of bathing in what is?  I can think of so many instances where I’ve done this in my life.  Why do we do that to ourselves?
     And, how ironic that it took a time in my life where I’d hit absolute rock bottom to start seeing the blessings before me.  It took rock bottom for me to change my perspective.  I was left with no choice but to start looking at things in a new light.  So, I spent a great deal of time training my brain to see the positive, to be grateful for each day and to look for all the wonderful things that were going unnoticed.
     A change in perspective has transformed me. I started focusing on the here and now and I took on an attitude of gratitude.  It has changed everything, including how I feel about my native state.  And, trust me, I never thought my opinion of Arizona could change.  I’ve heard so many people talk about Arizona and all of its splendor and I really thought they were crazy!  I just couldn’t see it.  I took it for granted.  But now, I’m like a newborn seeing this state, this life, for the first time.  
​     So I have to ask you, what splendor is right before your eyes that is going unnoticed?  What are you missing?  All you have to do is look for it…it’s there!  Trust me!

     Looking for wildflowers?  Many have already come and gone.  But some are still hanging on in this heat just a little while longer…  And there are still plenty of beautiful cactus blooms yet to see.  I’ve chased wildflowers in places all over Arizona like:  Peridot, White Tank Mountain Regional Park, Canyon Lake, Pleasant Lake, Bartlett Lake, Saguaro Lake, Black Canyon Trail, Daisy Mountain, Spur Cross Ranch, Silly Mountain, Phoenix Sonoran Preserve, and Superstition Wilderness.  What are you waiting for?