Years ago I read this and catalogued it somewhere in my memory:

A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms.

There is immeasurable freedom in these words. There is still more freedom in the philosophy behind these words.

These words spin and circle in my head frequently, bouncing around like a pinball machine. These words are words of truth. They are words of humility and strength and security. This message perfectly captivates a way of life designed to enhance the beauty of all, not just a select few. There is no extra thought, there is no insecurity forcing one to suppress another. No, flowers do what they were made to do without a second thought, they bloom.

I’ve often found myself frustrated with the somewhat common, yet faulty assumption that a desire to do good, seek beauty, and thrive while living fully as yourself must somehow mean a person has ulterior motives in conjunction to those desires. It has discouraged me to witness a sense of ugly competition (or perhaps even a shield of protection) surface within circles of friends, family, teams, colleagues, etc from this notion that only one or the other can succeed, but never both.

Where did we learn this? Why do we believe this lie?

Success and happiness are not limited resources. Success and happiness come in abundance. Another person’s success and happiness does not limit your ability to achieve success and happiness. Another person’s will to do what is best for everyone does not mean there must be an ulterior motive to undermine or overhaul or overthrow. It simply means there is a desire to do what is best for everyone, to allow all to flourish and do what is good and true. Why is that such a difficult concept to believe? Why do we choose to give the evil thoughts beckoning us any room to breath?

Two flowers can bloom at the same time and be equally, yet uniquely beautiful. In fact, multiple flowers in full bloom don’t distract from the beauty of the others, instead they team up together, magnifying the level of beauty for all.

Picture a field of Texas bluebonnets blooming wildly as they cloak the ground beneath them and race off into the sunset, no end in sight. It’s beautiful. It’s breathtaking. The weightiness of this image would be minor if not for all the flowers teaming up together. Each flower in full bloom encourages the beauty of all the others, it doesn’t compete. If there were just one solitary flower blooming in the field it would still be beautiful, but it would pale in comparison to an entire field abloom.

Why not magnify the beauty?

When you can begin to see past yourself and your limited ability to see the entire picture God paints for you, it makes it easier to allow yourself and others to bloom. When you genuinely want what is best for everyone surrounding you and not just what is best for you, that is when you become fully alive. This… this is the stuff that lights the world on fire. This is the stuff that is electrifying and contagious.

Instead of living in a false fear that allowing (and even encouraging) someone else to live up to their full potential might cause harm to you, live in the realization that allowing and helping others to thrive will actually benefit you too!

[clickToTweet tweet=”Where one person thrives by living authentically, others around them are granted an unspoken permission to do the same.” quote=”Where one person thrives by living authentically, others around them are granted an unspoken permission to do the same.”]

Let all the flowers bloom. Not just your flower, but the whole dang field of bluebonnets. Plant them, water them, fertilize them, encourage the heck out of them, and see them blossom together in a paradise of bluebonnets. Quit living in fear that someone else’s success might hinder your own. What a tragic way to live, shielding yourself and suppressing others from having the opportunity to be part of the beauty within a flourishing field of flowers.

{Photo taken at the Sam Phillips exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Nashville, TN – 2016}