You know when you have that feeling of being "out of place"? That feeling where you're wondering if you should have attended or participated in something. Yeah, that one. What's absolutely amazing about THAT feeling is that is where the magic happens. Its this timeless awareness where you are given a gift at that moment to see a different angle of the world. They are awkward yes, and uncomfortable yes, but they can expose you to those "gaps" that exist in the world. The spaces that aren't filled up with the normal world and you are experiencing that perspective at that very moment. While the world around you is plugging along and sometimes complacently doing what everyone else is doing, you are seeing and experiencing it differently. Embrace it, feel it, observe it and capture the beauty of it. These feelings are fleeting, so pay attention. Creativity and new ideas arise out of such spaces. In the flower world this space exists everywhere and no where. You see the same flowers over and over. Walk into any grocery store and you will find the roses with babies breath. The standard tulips. It's a standard. It's good and reliable. However, does it spark something new? Does it stop you in your tracks to say "I've never seen a flower like that!" Think about it. This is why dahlias are so enchanting. There are so many varieties, it becomes almost a quest to see new ones, a borderline obsession. Just watch the frenzy of dahlia tuber sales and you will see it. These are sales that could be sold out in just a few hours. There is a large group of us that crave awkward! This has been a complete inspiration. I'm not kidding at all. A new fresh world where flower farmers are creating NEW styles flowers every year. Wow! I am very new to this entire flower world, but I'll say, throw me in the pool. I am restraining as much as possible until the very moment when I can start my collected dahlia seeds from last fall and see who they are. What the bees did and where they went on their journeys through the day. How magical is that? I encourage you to find spaces of awkward in some of the routine spaces of your daily life, pay attention and see what beauty is about to blossom from it. Stay strange.
