Motivational Mondays: Stand Out from the Crowd (Doing the Right Thing)

I've been exploring in Presidio National Park in the last few weeks, inside and outside, so I was there an enchanted summer evening and saw the striking cactus flower above right where two trails forked. This was not even a question of taking the road less traveled; this standout was just doing what it was doing, and it was what it was.

But, if this bloom would have crossed the road, it just would have been one of many -- nothing wrong with any of these over here, of course ...

... but they don't stand out because there are so many of them there -- what the eye notices is standout #1 in golden green, and then, with an angle change ...

... standout #2, waving in the brisk breeze coming off the water, out of step with its own succulent associates in getting that big flower spike up.

Now, obviously, none of these plants chose their situations. It looks to me like the gardeners put them in as masses, but birds eating cactus fruit and spreading seeds along with some plants being more robust than others accounts for these situations.

However, we have choices this Monday. In the social media era it seems that everyone is willing to do just about anything for some attention, and doing the right thing is at the same time often overlooked. But here is the deal: even if you are the only person in your field working to do things right, your bloom time will come. Keep going -- you will someday stand out for all the right reasons!