Behind my house the flat yard rises in a 10 x 40 foot hill and then becomes flat again.

When we moved to this house 14 years ago that hill was planted with wildflowers and each year since we’ve just let them go.  We’ve watched them reseed , watched as some died off, watched as other species of plants have grown or taken over. This year the hill is full of pretty purple Cone flowers, dainty Queen Anne’s lace, some Black Eyed Susan’s and a mixture of things that many would consider weeds. I see this hilly meadow as a naturalized wildflower garden. Even those so called weeds have pretty blooms on them. Those weeds feed the birds and the bees and provide shelter for the bunnies and chipmunks.

My choice is to see those weeds as wildflowers. From my perspective I see beauty instead of something I need to grumble about or tackle and destroy.

Perspective is an important thing in life. We never move through this world in a straight smooth line. Sometimes we have to climb uphill, sometimes we roll downhill and sometimes we fall right into a great big hole in the road. Each of these times will test our reaction to and perspective on life. We can react negatively to each challenge, griping and grumbling about how unfair life is or we can react more positively, acknowledging the challenge but trying also to see a silver lining in solving the problem.

I’ve been on both sides of that choice. I’ve learned that for me, seeing things in a more positive way, seeing wildflowers instead of weeds makes me happier. The problems in life are still the same, they just don’t seem as ugly.