THE ART OF BECOMING A WILDFLOWER
(A Memoir and Guidebook)
BY
JERRY SNIDER
INTRODUCTION
“As long as we are persistent in our pursuit of our deepest destiny, we will continue to grow.
We cannot choose the day or time when we will fully bloom.
It happens in its own time.
Dennis Waitley – author, The Psychology of Winning
Ohio University, Fall 1973.
On my way to earning a D- in Psychology, I learned about a book called Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus. Our professor, Dr. Greenberg, told us the story of a little tiger who couldn’t seem to do anything right. While other animals were writing, drawing, and painting, Leo struggled. It took some time before he finally caught on. The book is still around. And so am I.
In time, I graduated from Ohio University with a BS in Communication. For the past forty years, I’ve been learning what BS stands for – BIG SURPRISE.
And there have been many.
History is full of late bloomers like Leo, people who are slow to discover their gifts and talents.
Some of my favorites are Colonel Sanders who started his chicken business with his first Social Security check and Grandma Moses who at age 78 picked up a paintbrush, created over 1500 works of art and continued working until her death at 101. And for those of you who like to be scared, hats off to Boris Karloff who worked in over eighty movies before landing the role of Frankenstein that made him famous.
And now, I’m officially adding my name to the list.
I’m the author of a new book called, BUDDY BLOOM WILDFLOWER (A Tale of Struggle and Celebration) Written for children ages 8 to 80, I call it my biography in kid form. It’s about the value of adversity, the joy of friendship, and the celebration of life.
It’s dedicated to Leo Buscaglia. If you’ve never read any of his books or watched his videos, please do.
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” C.S. Lewis, novelist and poet
Adults like to ask children, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
I like to ask adults, “What do you want to be now that you’re grown up?”
If there is some talent, some magic you haven’t pulled out of the hat yet, please remember, just like your car and your clothes, you can’t take it with you when you leave this life for the next.
Erma Bombeck made millions of people laugh with her books and newspaper column. But for my money the most important thing she said was not meant for the funny bone. These words were aimed at the heart and soul.
“When I stand before God at the end of my life. I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me.”
Visit me at www.buddybloomwildflower.com
theartofbecomingawildflower 