A leap of faith

“All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust.”

J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

It’s easy to overthink every detail, to over-plan and over-prepare. But sometimes, you just have to trust in the intelligence of life.

When I used 99 Designs to explore the book cover design for An Accidental Awakening: It’s not about yoga; It’s about family, one designer’s layout caught my eye. Something about it… something felt right. She pulled from the sunflower in the cover image and used it on the back of the book, which inspired me to add sunflower details to the interior design as well.

Until my mind held up the stop sign and said, “Wait a minute. There are no sunflowers in this story. The book’s cover should convey details of the story.”

Why sunflower? I contemplated the image. I remembered being late to meet my dear friend the day the picture was taken at the new medicine wheel constructed at the highest point in our city. Life had been busy and I’d forgotten to prepare some sort of offering for the wheel. My husband had bought me a mixed flower arrangement days earlier. It sat on the kitchen island. I grabbed the sunflower from its centre and took it with me.

Here’s the magic that unfolded as I trusted my choice of cover:

Sunflower symbolism is rich with themes of spiritual awakening. One of my favourite symbolism bloggers provides insight into this issue:

“Sunflowers are a symbol to remind us to follow our instinct, follow our joy, follow what lights us up. Sunflower as a symbol can also represent the unwavering faith that guides the soul to the highest spiritual attunement.”

Avia Venefica

But there’s more…

I’d forgotten about a scene I wrote about my grandmother in the book. More specifically, her crystal vase and glassware that I remembered as a child. The ones with the sunflower design etched into them.

And just today, I realized another scene, brief, yet compelling:

After what seemed like hours that morning, and years of my life before, stumbling around in the dark, the emerging light of the sun brought clarity to the previously colourless forms around me. The shades of blue morphed into yellows like a time-lapsed video of a sunflower blossoming. The bright, open sky starkly contrasted the enshrouding darkness; a sobering sight.

Chapter 1, Stumbling Around in the Dark

So, I’m glad I didn’t overthink it. I’m happy I took that leap of faith, trust and pixie dust, and landed squarely in the energy of the sunflower.