Few things bring me instant joy like sunflowers do. Their bright faces evoke the warmth from their namesake, whom they naturally tilt towards and track throughout the day—powered by the sun, literally. But more than that, sunflowers are aspirational to me. As a child, I’d sit at the kitchen window, staring out at our garden, and marvel at the sunflowers there. How could you not notice them? They are the tallest and brightest of any garden. The eye can’t help but be naturally drawn to them.
There is an innate strength in this flower that I’ve always admired. With a thick and sturdy stem, the sunflower is an unbreakable force, able to withstand strong winds and torrential rains. Whatever slings and arrows nature throws at it, the sunflower remains firmly planted in the ground, with deep roots that sometimes eclipse its height. Its beauty, strength, and resilience have me awestruck.
There is a nurturing quality to the sunflower. When the seeds come in, it becomes a natural bird feeder. I remember watching squirrels in our garden scurry up the stem and feast on the seeds. Like an earthly representation of Mother Nature, the sunflower draws forth all creatures to its abundant center, providing sustenance. Sunflowers can also serve an even greater purpose. Because sunflowers can hold a high concentration of toxic materials in their tissues, they are often brought in to absorb harmful metals and radiation from the soil, as they did after the Chornobyl nuclear disaster.
They were also involved in cleaning up a lead-laced plot of land in Detroit. That’s quite a superpower to have. The sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine, whose people embody these same characteristics.
For centuries, Ukraine has been a conquest for many a country or dictator determined to invade and decimate it. Yet these sunflowers stood tall and proud amidst storms of bombs and bullets, absorbing toxic metals threatening democracy and freedom. To this day, Ukraine still stands. We are sunflowers. The Nazis could not break us. The soviets could not break us, and certainly, Putin will never break us.
Our roots run deep. We will continue to feed and nurture the next generation of Ukrainians, making those roots run even deeper. We will weather this storm as we have done in the past, and when it ends, we will tilt our heads toward the sun. This time, however, there will also be a rainbow, and it will be blue and yellow.
Zorianna Kit is a Los Angeles based journalist, communications and PR specialist
