When I put the rubbish out this morning I noticed this little pansy that had grown and blossomed on the cement stairs.  I thought to myself how incredible...how against all odds...how if I had tried to grow flowers there I doubt that I would have been successful...how sometimes...even when you don't know it...nurturing and love is given and received and ultimately growth happens.  It made me think of my life and many of the lives I have witnessed and how early on in my own healing and recovery process my dear, dear friend Alice gave me a paper weight that just said "Bloom where YOU are planted".  Initially I didn't understand, but with time, love and support started to see some of my blossoms.  Sometimes people would refer to me as a "late bloomer".  As more time passed I realized that I wasn't really a "late bloomer" but that it was hard to bloom in a recognizable sense when you are trying to just survive one day to the next.  As I took in this thought, I wondered if maybe there was no such thing as a "late bloomer" but instead, there were only gardeners that fail to recognize and nurture the growth, blossoms and potential in each plant and tree.   Today, after many years of therapy and recovery and after receiving my 25 year medallion last night, I feel both the beauty and strength of the little pansy above and of the flower below, which was also growing in my yard this morning.  I know that I am both flowers as are each of you. We all have and do have obstacles to navigate and work around.  We all all wounded and in need of healing.   We all are blooming, however differently.  Without a doubt however, my ability to grow, blossom and mature came from accepting where I was planted...changing the ways it had limited me...and embracing that it is all a part of who I am.   Both flowers our equally beautiful to me and, for lack of another word or phrase, mind boggling.  I feel so appreciative for all the gardeners who saw my blossoms and beauty long before I even knew I had any.  May each of us be blessed with the gift to see the blossoms, beauty and strength in others as well.