It’s easy to love the bloom…the color, the fragrance, the beauty. But none of that happens without the storm. Without the soaking. Without the gray skies that force the roots to go deeper.

That’s the paradox of resilience.

We all want the petals. Few of us welcome the downpour.

But here’s the truth I’ve learned through illness, reinvention, and walking alongside others in the mud:

You don’t bounce back by bracing yourself.

You grow by nourishing yourself.

Resilience isn’t a performance. It’s not about pretending everything’s fine. It’s about knowing when to pause…to breathe…to water your soul before life dries you out.

So ask yourself today:

What’s one way you can pour back into you?

Maybe it’s a quiet moment.

Maybe it’s reaching out to someone who sees the real you.

Maybe it’s saying no so you can say yes to your well-being.

We don’t get to choose when the storms come.

But we do get to choose how we care for our garden when they do.

Stay rooted. Stay nourished.

And when your next bloom shows up, you’ll know you grew that.

With belief in your resilience,

Tom