Just Bloom

Life has a way of making us feel like we’re in constant competition—like we have to measure up, keep pace, or prove our worth by comparing our journey to someone else’s. But nature tells a different story.

A flower does not look at the one beside it and wonder if it is blooming faster, taller, or more beautifully. It simply grows. It reaches toward the sun, takes in what it needs, and unfolds in its own time. It does not worry about whether the flower next to it is ahead or behind, whether its petals are brighter, or whether its roots are deeper. It simply exists as it was meant to—fully, freely, and without hesitation.

That is the lesson I am learning every day. My journey—our journey—is ours alone. Living with my husband's PNES has taught me that comparison serves no purpose in healing, in loving, or in living fully. There is no roadmap, no timeline, no "right way" to navigate this. Some days, it feels like we are making progress, finding moments of peace, and reclaiming the life we are fighting so hard to build. Other days, it feels like we are back at square one, lost in the exhaustion and uncertainty of it all.

But what I am slowly realizing is that blooming does not always look the way we expect it to. Some days, blooming means standing strong, finding joy, and embracing hope. Other days, it means simply making it through—choosing to breathe, to try again, and to hold onto love through the struggle. And both kinds of days matter. Both are growth.

It is so easy to look around and feel like we are falling behind. Like others are handling their struggles better, making more progress, or living a life that looks smoother, easier, more put together. But flowers do not rush their blooming. They do not shrink because another flower is taller. They do not give up because the process is slow. They simply keep growing—steadily, persistently, in their own time.

And that is what we are doing. We are growing, even on the hardest days. We are learning to embrace our journey, not as something to compare or compete with, but as something uniquely ours—filled with its own beauty, its own lessons, its own quiet victories.

To anyone who feels like they are struggling to bloom, I want to remind you: there is no deadline on healing, on happiness, or on becoming who you are meant to be. Your growth is not too slow. Your progress is not too small. You are exactly where you need to be, learning, changing, and stretching toward the light in your own way.

So let go of the need to compare. Stop questioning whether you are enough. You are. Just as you are. Keep growing, keep holding on, and trust that in time, you will bloom into something even more beautiful than you imagined.

And the best part? You don’t have to do it all at once. You just have to keep going.