Above the Clouds and Under Every Petal...

When I was little, I used to love the saying that "every cloud has a silver-lining".  I would imagine clouds with sparkling interiors, that gleamed like polished chrome.  In my mind, the sky was filled with floating Airstream Travel Trailers hiding in plan sight.

Later, when I found out that it actually meant that every bad situation had some good, I loved it even more.

The older you get and the more life knocks you around, it becomes even more vital to search for the positive.  It's important to discover those silver-linings and find the beauty when things might seem less than pretty.

Walking through the garden on a spring day, hellebores might not seem that remarkable at first.  They are not as showy as irises or have the technicolor brilliance of daffodils.  Crocus flowers, one of the earliest to bloom, even have the upper-hand at being some of the first pops of color after the monochrome of winter.  In comparison, at first glance, they can seem sort of plain.  But if you look closer, hellebores are some of the most gorgeous and varied of flowers.  The flowers come in nearly every color, including greens and blacks.  If you take a moment to turn up the downward facing flowers, you'll be rewarded with a unique beauty.  The petals can be speckled and fan out around a crown of fringy stamen.  The flowers almost seem modest, concealing their loveliness.  To truly enjoy the hellebores, you've got to change your perspective – you have to be willing to get on the ground or flip the flower up.

Whether it's above the clouds or under every petal, there's an important life lesson:  There is good in everything, even the most troubling of times, but it'll remain hidden until you seek it out.