How Pink Is Your Bougainvillea?
When evaluating possible
backgrounds for head shots with my photographer sister-in-law, I realized all of
the fun options provided to me here “back home” in San Diego, as opposed to my “current
home” in Colorado. Bougainvillea has
always been a favorite of mine – we even had a bougainvillea bush on our patio
in the house where I grew up. The color
is hard to beat. It really is its very
own shade – bougainvillea pink. (Quite frankly,
if someone is unable to appreciate that phenomenal color then they are no friend
of mine!)
So I ask her, “how pink is your
bougainvillea?” And with a little
education from my brother, I have learned that they are the most pink when they
are dry and hot and have been in the sun a good deal. The bracts (the pink parts surrounding the
flower) thrive and are arguably the most beautiful in conditions most of us would
deem to be unpleasant.
Dry. Thirsty.
Overheated. Sun burnt. Those certainly don’t seem like the moments
when my creativity will thrive and bloom.
And in a literal sense, no, it won’t be.
But perhaps those moments of mental and emotional dry and hot will in
turn produce greater blooms than the moments of comfort and ease.
Challenges necessitate the creation
of art. Necessity is the mother of
invention. Good stories don’t develop
from lackluster times and limited perspective.
Little did I realize that the
question “how pink is your bougainvillea?” could also be a way of asking “how vibrant
is the result of your challenges?”
So, how pink is your bougainvillea?
(Pictured is my most vibrant of
beloved challenges.)
#writingjourney #bougainvillea
#challenges #picturebook #sandiego #anitavp
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