A Tribute To The Inspirational Sunflower

As I looked out the window this morning it was as if the sunflower were looking in at me. Moments like this make me forget the horrible things going on in the world all around us, if only for a few moments. It awakens me to the good and causes me to look to the beauty, the generosity, the kindness, the love and ultimately the hope. To look for the light and follow that, just as the sunflower. My tutor, my muse, my inspiration at this moment, my sunflower.

"Eagle of flowers! I see thee stand, And on the sun's noon-glory gaze; With eye like his, thy lids expand, And fringe their disk with golden rays: Though fix'd on earth, in darkness rooted there, Light is thy element, thy dwelling air, Thy prospect heaven."
~James Montgomery

“I don't think there's anything on this planet that more trumpets life that the sunflower. For me that's because of the reason behind its name. Not because it looks like the sun but because it follows the sun. During the course of the day, the head tracks the journey of the sun across the sky. A satellite dish for sunshine. Wherever light is, no matter how weak, these flowers will find it. And that's such an admirable thing. And such a lesson in life.”
~ Helen Mirren