A beautiful metaphor that I never cared to previously assess deeply. It's not new information that flowers, or any plant for that matter, need both the sunshine and the rain to flourish. There's no growth without both, just as the saying implies that humans need ups and downs, happiness and gloomy days, to grow.

That's not to say you should seek to feel down, but rather it implies that we should seek to make the best of our hardships.

As much as we'd like to say otherwise, we do need the physical and metaphorical rain.

We need physical rainy days to force ourselves to pause. To let ourselves indulge in a night in. A night of paused productivity. A night of watching movies or reading a book. A night of just being, rather than constantly doingor achieving.

And we need the metaphorical rain; the less than favourable emotions like sadness, anger, hopelessness, and fear.

Though it challenges our natural instincts, these emotions are not solely negative. We can choose to make more of them.

Here's two examples:

Fear can instil a will or reminder to live, and can grow confidence when we learn to overcome our greatest apprehensions.

Without fear there is no instinct to survive. There is no will to pursue better.

Without fear the prey falls victim to the predator without a fight.

Without fear, people fail to take cover for the worst storms.

In similar fashion, sadness and pain can help increase our appreciation of the good moments. Just like we appreciate the sun more after it rains.

Just like we miss the sunshine on cold winter nights, but complain of the heat in mid July.

It's the rain that reminds us not to take the sunshine for granted.

When you lose everything, when you reach your lowest, you grow a new ability to enjoy the little things. You learn to enjoy the small steps towards where you want to be, because you know what it's like to have nothing.

I don't think I would find joy in the simplest things, like making a stranger smile or watching the trees sway in the wind, if I hadn't spent so many years in misery and self-loathing.

Kind of like the way they say money can't buy happiness. Many people who grow up with everything handed to them struggle with gratitude, because they haven't known different. 

Try to find a healthy balance between your metaphorical sunshine and rain. Find healthy ways to water garden. I say garden and not flower, because a garden has the potential to grow countless different plants. Some you might not be interested in. Some you might love. And some take more maintenance. But just as a garden deserves to be taken care of, so do you.

I know that some storms feel like they're never going to end.

I know that some storms cause irreparable damage or loss.

I know that some storms can feel all-consuming.

But look up to the sky with hope, because there has yet to be a storm on earth that hasn't been followed by the sun.

You will shine again, and the rain will have helped you grow. Even if you can't see the growth yet.