The Sunflower

A field of sunflowers sat beside another field covered with grass. Perhaps long ago that grass field was a pasture for animals, but now there was nothing there except an old tractor in the corner.

An unusual gust of wind, going against the direction the wind usually went in that area, lifted a few sunflower seeds from a particularly full sunflower, and dropped them in the grassy field.

All but one died very quickly, the tangle of the grass preventing them from taking root. One particularly hardy (or perhaps lucky) sunflower seed, however, defied the odds and started to grow.

On a fine morning, that sunflower bloomed and showed its bright yellow face. As the light hit it, it became aware of where it was. It looked around at all the whispering grass, and knew already, it was different. The belief grew stronger and stronger, till one day, it broke through all the grass and it saw across to the sunflower field.

What joy it felt in its heart in that moment! It saw all the other sunflowers, yellow and glorious, so different from the grass that had surrounded it. Once in a while, the wind would bring the glorious singing of those sunflowers across, and this lone sunflower rejoiced at those voices, so different from the raspy whispering of the grass around it.

But it wondered - look how big and glorious those sunflowers are. And I am so small and misshapen. They sing so wonderfully, while my voice is cracked and muted.

The sunflower grew sadder and sadder by the day, and at some point, thought that that must be the reason he was sent to this grassy field - he did not fit in with the glory of all the other sunflowers. He watched little sunflowers grow big and bloom, while his petals stayed small and stunted.

Then he figured it out. The reason he was small and stunted was because he was in the grassy field. If he could go over to the other field, then he would be in the soil that was best for sunflowers and he would grow to be as magnificent as they were.

Being a plant, he was not sure how exactly he could go about moving to another field. So he asked a knot of grass close by - “Hey, do you know how I can go across to the other field?”

The grassy lump looked at him in silence for a while: “Sunflower, you’ve never spoken to us all the time you have been growing here. We are your neighbours, we’ve lived together all our lives. Why do you want to leave us and go live with the other sunflowers?

We’ve heard you complain for so long about how small your petals are, and how great the sunflowers over there are doing. You know why your petals are so small and stunted?

Because, Sunflower, you have turned your head to look to that field! You are a sunflower, look at the sun! All that looking into the other field is what has prevented you from being as magnificent as they are! Just turn to the sun and forget about the other field.”

The Sunflower, ashamed, saw that the grass was right. And he turned to the sun. In a few days, he bloomed and started growing. Soon, his petals were as big as the grandest from the other field - and also because all the grass had made his soil very fertile.

A few years later, that grassy field was filled with grand sunflowers - children of that original sunflower - all looking proudly to the sun, growing and singing.

Till one day, again, another seed floated gently on an unusual gust of wind, into the next grassy field.