A Weed or a Wildflower

By Margaret Daley

One of my granddaughters got me to think about how we look at things means everything. I know I should already realize that, but it was something she said to me that made me stop and really think about a person’s outlook could make all the difference in the world.

We were driving back to her house.  I saw a field carpeted in purple and said, “Look at that. Isn’t that beautiful?”

Joe-Pye Weed wild flowers, Eutrochium, growing in a field

“They’re weeds, Grandma Margaret,” she said.

“Some people call them weeds, but others call them wildflowers.”

“Really?”

“Yep,” I said.

Later as I mulled over what I’d said to my granddaughter, I realized how important it was to look at something in a positive light—a favorable one. We don’t like weeds, but flowers are one of the things that add beauty to our lives. What I am going to strive to do is to look at a field full of wildflowers, not one full of weeds. I think I will be better off looking at the positive, not the negative, and every time I see a wildflower I will be reminded of that.

How do you see a field (or your lawn), especially in the springtime? Is it full of weeds or wildflowers?