Glorious Rebels

How does the Meadow-flower its bloom unfold?

Because the lovely little flower is free
Down to its root, and, in that freedom, bold;
And so the grandeur of the Forest-tree
Comes not by casting in a formal mould,
But from its own divine vitality.

- William Wordsworth

The colorful perennials we’ve enjoyed all summer are on their last leg. In the coming weeks, they will succumb to overnight frosts and die away for the season.

Most plants respect the natural order and just fade away when September comes. Their blooms wither, their leaves yellow, then brown, efficiently following the process of decomposing and returning to the Earth.

Then there are the glorious rebels, the lonely bursts of petals in a sea of spent flowers. These few blooms ignore the memo and keep flowering long past the “acceptable” season. They know their fate, yet they keep blooming until their last bit of energy is gone.

Today, I celebrate those renegades. They boldly look skyward and soak up the sun, bringing a little joy to the few people that stop to notice their efforts. 

May we all have the gumption to stand up and be heard even when we know that the outcome is unchanging. We just might bring a little hope to those around us who need it.

Breaking Through the Atmosphere

To be able to escape earth's atmosphere, you need to achieve a velocity that is great enough to achieve sufficient energy to escape the earth's gravitational field strength.*

I have a problem. I want to escape, but I don't have enough energy.

Like most people, my job involves constant decision-making. Are the requirements ‘done enough’? Should I go to that meeting? What tests should we write? When should we discuss an upcoming feature? Some are easy & others difficult, but lucky for me, I enjoy the work that is accomplished with these decisions.

The problem is all the counter-productive decisions in my day. I choose to refrain from battling over a stupid process for the tenth time because it’s more efficient to fill out the form. I give in and provide detailed estimates for an upcoming project even though I know there is little value. I try to hide my emotions, a.k.a. not cry, over budget & staffing decisions that I can’t change instead of telling management what I really think.

These choices leave me emotionally and physically drained.

When I get home and consider a career change, at first it seems exhilarating and I take off. Then I start considering all the possibilities and my plane loses velocity. Soon I’m landing and with my feet back on the ground, I convince myself that things will change. Management will come around and if I'm here then I can help them see the error of their ways. And what else would I do anyway? The gravitational field strength takes over and I’m grounded again.

I know I need to escape, but how can I ever reach my escape velocity?

* Source: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Force_required_to_break_from_Earths_atmosphere