Bloom where you are planted. That's what they say.
But they also say when a flower doesn't bloom, you change the environment in which it grows. You don't change the flower. Sometimes a plant needs repotting.
And sometimes, the roots outgrow the pot.
My family was recently uprooted and replanted in a new city. We left behind the house we lived in for over a decade. We grew roots there. We grew a family there.
We buried a child there.
Anytime you move a plant, it's stressful for the plant. You have to dig up some dirt. You have to uncover dark roots that go way down deep. Ugly roots you didn't even know were there.
Roots of bitterness. Roots of resentment. Roots of anger.
But any good gardener knows that plants need pruning in order to thrive. The trimming of dried-out old leaves and stems. The cutting away of dead weight. The pulling of stubborn weeds and thorns that try to choke any new growth.
It's not an easy process. It's painstaking. It comes only by the sweat of your brow.
But after the pruning, after you've soaked up enough water and sunlight, you will begin to feel your roots taking hold of new soil, and you will once again know your purpose. You will lift up your head and open your eyes to the world around you.
And you will know.
Just grow.
