Be True To Your Dreams

Recently, it was the 25th anniversary of the space shuttle challenger’s explosion. In the news, they reflected on Christa McAuliffe the first teacher in space who died that day.  Her widow, Steven McAuliffe wrote a heartfelt letter to the board about a school being named after her. “I hope generations of students, teachers and administrators who pass through the new school will be inspired by her most precious lesson – ordinary people can make extraordinary contributions when they remain true to themselves and follow their dreams.” (Mccormak, 2011) Mccormak Associated Press, ‘Chron National’ 24 Jan.

She obviously made the biggest contribution of all by following a dream that had great risk but could benefit society as a whole. The legacy that was left was one of courage and passion. To be authentic to yourself and who you are is something that takes courage every day. There is always something or someone that can rob you of that.

This reminds me of the “Iris” flower whose meaning has come to include faith, hope, and valor. In history, these  three attributes was used most notably by the French but also by other cultures as the three petals of the Iris, the royal symbol fleur-de-lis.

What I find interesting is that it was their coat of arms which conveys the fact that that as a people they were living this message every day. Following Hurricane Katrina, the fleur-de-lis became the official symbol of the state of Louisiana and the grass root efforts to rebuild New Orleans.

To be true to your dreams does take the effort and the rededication of one’s passion and the iris can remind us of that.

In all of our cards we include the symbolism of the image or flower on the back of the card. The Iris card reads “The Iris inspires the courage to be truly dedicated to one’s passion.”

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/7394460.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+houstonchronicle%2Ftopheadlines+(chron.com+-+Top+Stories)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleur-de-lis

Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart. (Author unknown)