The song Wildflowers by Tom Petty captures both the sentiments of love and beauty in melody and rhyme. It was released in 1994 and took Tom one take to record it. He didn’t think it was good enough to be released after he sat down because he “played the whole song from scratch from a single stream of consciousness” according to an Ultimate Classic Rock article.

The album on the other hand took two years to produce and record. In a 2019 Rolling Stone wrote, it was “the longest Petty ever spent on an album”. But it was also one of the best albums he ever released. 

One stanza in the song by goes, 

“You belong among the wildflowers, you belong somewhere close to me, Far away from your trouble and worry, you belong somewhere you feel free”. 

Flowers represent so much. There is something particularly spectacular about flowers that are wild. Hence why it may have been so easy for him to write this song. 

At 13,000 feet up on the side of a mountain life exists in purple, maroon, gold, green, white and blue. However, the weather and environment can be harsh, and wildflowers at this elevation live in an almost indestructible fashion. The wind can be so powerful it moves the landscape, the temperature brutally chilled and the rain merciless. But life still finds a way. 

Growing gardens or flowers on the other hand are hard work but nothing like what mother nature is able to accomplish on her own and having a green thumb is an acquired skill similar to  an acquired taste in wine or ability to recognize good art or fashion. My thumb is in the early stages of development and still more flesh colored but slowly finding some shades of green. A few months ago I built my first garden box and ordered some wildflower seeds online. I wanted to grow something from seedlings to learn what they needed to bloom and experience the wild at home. 

I wasn’t very confident in my abilities and expected the worst. However, my friend Caleb reassured me to water them each day until they bloom and that they may take a while so be patient. 

After I got everything set I actually got excited each morning to wake up and water the soil. Typically I travel a lot for work but since being home more often due to COVID there is no better time than now to start growing flowers. 

After about 3 weeks of daily watering I finally started to see some early sprouting. My daughters and I were thrilled to see life emerge from the dirt. A small win but success nonetheless.  

What I’ve since started to think about is that I don’t question why a flower needs water or why it grows toward the sun. I understand that it simply needs those things and so for its growth to be healthy it must continue to receive both. 

As a father, I do my best to water my girls every day. I water their soul, their mind and their health and when they do begin to bloom it is like that green popping through the soil or the bright pink of a poppy exploding overnight from a fuzzy pod. 

Growth for a flower in a box and growth for the flower on a mountain however, are different. 

As much water and sunlight I give to my girls I also want them to grow like the flowers in harsh environments. That is something only mother nature can provide and that means letting them live life despite its harshness at times. Growth is painful and discouraging and it’s also freeing and beautiful.   

It is important to ask ourselves why we question our growth? We judge our needs and desires. We tell ourselves stories about how we don’t deserve success or that we aren’t worthy of  love. When we go through growing pains we analyze whether we are doing it right or suspicious that we’ve screwed up somewhere. 

Thinking back to flowers that grow at high elevation, it may not be easy for them to surface from a seedling but life doesn’t emanate because it is easy, it springs because it must and when it does, it is a beautiful beautiful experience. Each morning the flowers in my box blossom with like a firework. A new color, a new size, a new type of flower. One morning, I went out to water them early and I could see a sliver of soft pink from one of the pods. A few hours later it was in full bloom facing the sun. What a magical moment to see life unfold right before me.   

The same principles apply when growing plants, growing children and growing yourself. Water every day and dont question the growth. Let the life that is meant to be emerge the way it’s supposed to. 

What I want as a father is to see my girls grow like the wildflowers. I want them to continue to release life despite the harshest environments. To grow rampant and never stop showing off their beauty just like the flowers on the side of a mountain top. 

When you can find a way to survive at that height; both beauty and freedom are unparalleled. So, the lesson we learn from wildflowers is that, life is meant to be where we feel free.