Summary

The author, Joanne Troppello, discovers the symbolism of sunflowers and embraces it as a personal emblem of positivity, resilience, and spiritual growth.

Abstract

Joanne Troppello's initial preference for lilacs shifted when she uncovered the profound symbolism of sunflowers, which led to a newfound appreciation for their beauty. Symbolizing long life, good luck, vitality, and intelligence in Chinese culture, and representing God's love and spiritual awakening in esoteric Christianity, sunflowers resonate with Troppello's quest for positivity. Inspired by their tendency to follow the sun, a metaphor for seeking light in life, she has incorporated sunflower imagery into her digital spaces and started the Sunflower Quest Community to cultivate and share positivity with others. Troppello encourages focusing on the good amidst adversity and spreading encouragement, echoing the lessons she learned from the sunflower's journey towards sunlight.

Opinions

Troppello once favored lilacs for their beauty but now values the symbolism and beauty of sunflowers equally.
The author sees the sunflower's tracking of the sun as an admirable and instructive life lesson for all.
She believes in the power of sunflowers to symbolize enduring faith, love, and spiritual enlightenment.
Troppello has taken practical steps to keep the sunflower's symbolism in her daily life by using sunflower imagery on her devices and social media.
The establishment of the Sunflower Quest Community is an extension of her commitment to promoting positivity and helping others.
The author emphasizes the importance of maintaining a grateful heart and focusing on the silver linings in difficult times.
Troppello uses the symbolism of the sunflower as a reminder to seek out and share the positive aspects of life, even when faced with challenges.

Why the Symbolism of Sunflowers Resonated with Me

Staying focused on finding the sunshine in my life

“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows. It’s what the sunflowers do.” — Helen Keller

Lilacs have always been my favorite flower. I love their pale violet color and their fresh scent. I never really liked sunflowers much. They seemed ordinary to me and nothing like lilacs. However, I made a discovery and realized that lilacs may look more beautiful to me, but now the sunflower has become a thing of beauty in my eyes.

Recently I discovered the symbolism of the sunflower, otherwise known as Helianthus. The genus of the flower is rooted in two Greek words — helios which means sun and Anthos, which means flower.

There are several different symbolisms for the sunflower. For example, the sunflower symbolizes long life, good luck, vitality, and intelligence in Chinese culture.

One of the symbolisms that truly resonated with me is that in esoteric Christianity, it symbolizes God’s love, steadfast faith, and a spiritual awakening.

Seeking the sunshine

“I don’t think there’s anything on this planet that more trumpets life than the sunflower. For me that’s because of the reason behind its name. Not because it looks like the sun but because it follows the sun. During the course of the day, the head tracks the journey of the sun across the sky. A satellite dish for sunshine. Wherever light is, no matter how weak, these flowers will find it. And that’s such an admirable thing. And such a lesson in life.” — Helen Mirren

I love what Helen Mirren said about no matter how weak the light is, a sunflower will always seek it. I agree with her sentiments that such seeking can be a life lesson for us.

I only learned about the symbolism of sunflowers this past week when I was doing research for a writing assignment. This symbolism inspired me so much that I added a photo of a sunflower to the screen background on my laptop, cell phone, and tablet, and added a sunflower emoji after my name on Medium and Twitter.

A reminder to find the good things

That may seem silly to some people, but it serves as a reminder to me.

Right now, even when life may seem difficult, I hope we all can focus on finding the sunshine in our lives.

Try to find the silver linings in those rainy days. Focus on having a grateful heart even in the midst of adversity. Sure, we all can probably write a long list of the things that are difficult or going wrong in our lives right now.

However, let’s change our mindset and focus on the good things in our lives and share that sunshine with those who need encouragement or help.

Sunflower Quest Community

In this video, I share about the symbolism of sunflowers and how I recently started the Sunflower Quest Community on Locals and YouTube.

Video animation about why I started the Sunflower Quest YouTube Channel.

Joanne Troppello is an author, writer, and poet. She is the publisher of the online Christian lifestyle magazine, Mustard Seed Sentinel. Connect with Joanne on Twitter and join in cultivating positivity in your life and sharing it with others by subscribing to the Sunflower Quest Community.