Three mindful lessons sunflowers can teach us 

Patience. 

As we embark on our sunflower’s journey one thing we will realise is that you cannot rush this process. The best time for planting is May and it will flower around mid-late August, this gives you about four months to enjoy your sunflower. Life is not a race even though it can often feel like it. In the end we all come and return from the same place. The natural world is a wonderful example of these important lessons. Let your sunflower teach you the art of slow and steady.

Observation.

This journey is not as simple as plant a seed and wait for it to grow. Your sunflower will need care, attention and love. As your sunflower grows I invite you to spend time with it. Watch how it changes as the summer passes, look out for new leaves and shoots, watch as the flower first begins to appear.  When you find yourself taking time to observe, focus your mind and attention on its details, try to see what is new each day, perhaps you could even keep a diary? It only takes a couple of minutes each day and this time can act as a way to ground and centre yourself to the present moment. 

Putting down the phone.

We are really excited to see your photos and your sunflower’s progress through social media! However we don’t want you to become too immersed in the online side of this, we’d much prefer you to become immersed in the offline side of things. When it comes down to it we’re going to have put the phone down and get our hands dirty. The feeling of potting up seeds in fresh compost is wonderful and can be an excellent mindful exercises. The feel, the smell, the sound! It’s all there. It doesn’t stop there either, when you are observing or practising patience this can be enhanced by leaving your phone inside and stepping away from the busy online world.