Bloom with Grace

Wherever life plants you, bloom with grace.’ French ProverbI was reminded of this quote after coming across an old decanter in the back of my cupboard that looked like the proverbial ‘genie in the bottle’ of fairytale lore. It brought to mind a homework project that one of my favorite middle school teachers had assigned many dozens of years ago. We were asked to construct a magic vessel that could grant one wish.Well, even all those many years ago, I was not all that much different than I am now. I thought deeply about my options- really and truly did some soul searching on what my one wish was going to be. Even though I did not think about my world in the same quantum terms that I do now, there was a part of me that knew the universe was listening to my musings.As I worked on my ‘ one wish’ I first made a list of all of the things I really wanted. I can’t remember what those ‘wants’ were now, and that fact alone, explains why I knew that none of them were worth my ‘one wish.’I then considered using my ‘one wish’ to avoid something that scared me. But being saved from one thing that scared me did not make much sense when I knew there were so many other fears that would quickly step in to replace the one I might eradicate.Even though I was only 12 years old and it was just a 7th grade creative writing assignment, it was life changing to me. It made me dig deep and pushed me toward a personal truth that has remained with me all these years. Not only do I perfectly remember the wish I finally settled on, it is still my personal credo today.‘Whatever life brings me, may I have peace of mind.’ Even just writing that phrase makes me feel good- because by now I know that I cannot control what life brings my way- but if I am able to meet it with peace of mind, all will be well in my world.Although life has never offered me the proverbial ‘Genie in the Bottle’ that I wrote about so long ago, I do believe the universe has granted my wish. Because the storms of life have come and gone, and even though a few of them have dropped me to my knees, I have always found my way back to peace. Maybe that genie was real after all....“Wherever life plants you, bloom with grace.’