Free Writing Lessons from Mother Nature

Before someone has the chance to say, “Enough with the daffodils, Michele,” I promise this will be my final post about them this year. But I’ve had so many lessons from daffodils this year, many of which apply to writing, I wanted to offer one more. This one is about perspective, which writers refer to as “point of view.”

            When winter has withered my soul and spring seems impossible, I take to my car in search of the first signs of daffodils. I post photos of stems popping through the earth in agonizing slow motion until there is a splendid array of blossoms. There is one particular yard that I watch and photograph. I always approach it after touring the beaches on the Atlantic Ocean side of my town.

            Last week, my husband and I were in a neighboring town on an errand. On the way back, he asked if I would like to tour the beaches and see if the whales that have been periodically performing were back. Of course, I said yes. Have you ever seen whales spouting, breaching, and playing? If you have, you know why I couldn’t refuse.

           We turned down the road where the daffodils waited, a bonus to our ride to the beach, approaching from the opposite direction I normally take. When we got to the yard, my husband knew enough to slow down, but I shocked him when I shouted, “Stop.”

            A wonderous golden array of forsythia I had never noticed before stood guard behind my beloved daffodils. How had I missed it? The combination was magnificent as if the forsythia and daffodils were in competition for the “Most Beautiful Horticultural Spring Event.”

I was stunned as much by my own ignorance as by the appearance of the forsythia. Had I never come down the road from the opposite direction I normally take, I might never have seen the forsythia or had the opportunity to consider how its appearance impacts my regard for the daffodils. Taking the road less traveled, I had a totally different perspective because it came from another POINT OF VIEW. Taking the road less traveled, I had a totally different perspective because it came from another POINT OF VIEW.Taking the road less traveled, I had a totally different perspective because it came from another POINT OF VIEW.

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