Walking past this bud on the tree, I was thinking about how closed it was. New. But closed. The others were blooming. This one wasn't quite ready. The unfurled green leaf says it will be soon. We often don't think we're ready. We hold so tightly onto the things we know. We're hoping someone will come along and pry us open. That's not the way things go.

Anais Nin said it best:

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.