Jade Fern Grove No, I’m not a go-getter

The girl had no way of knowing, but Fig had decided a while back on the road that he truly did enjoy offering advice and helping others with their problems. He had been through much in his life that had made him pause and reflect, and he'd had to learn how to take care of his mind and his heart. It was something he'd learned was necessary for his own happiness, and that others often neglected. It brought him joy to help them, just as it was to be speaking with "Sunflower" now (as had officially become her name in his head).

He smiled at her when she declared the situation doomed and gave a soft shake of his head. No one was ever doomed. "It's true, sunflowers can't be tulips, no matter how they aspire to be," Fig said in his calm, steady voice, "I'm curious, though. Have you ever looked at a tulip and wished it were a sunflower? Or a rose? Or a lily? Or anything other than a tulip?"

He paused for a moment to let the question stir in her mind before continuing. "In my experience, it's never the other flowers in the garden that look at each other and wish they were something else. Roses are happy to let tulips be tulips and lilies be lilies. Just as I suspect sunflowers would never expect a tulip to be a rose. It's only ever a sunflower that looks at itself and wishes it were something else, even though it can look at all the other flowers in the garden and know without a doubt that all flowers are needed to make a garden beautiful."