Time of the Sunflower

I’ve been in London for a week, and suddenly sunflowers seem to be appearing at every turn. During our Monday Morning Sound & Movement Meditation this morning, they re-surfaced in my mind’s eye and I wondered, is it the time of the sunflower? 

As we slowly transition from the height of summer to the gentle folding inwards of autumn, does the sunflower drink in the last rays of warmth and light? I may be reading too much into it (and I actually don't know about the lifecycle/seasonality of sunflowers), but I am moved by the way the sunflower moves, seeking out what it needs. Fundamentally, this is the purpose of movement itself, to get our needs met, to get our bodies towards the desired and needed external object, or to move the fluids and stimulate the nerves and keep the inner body lubricated and communicating. 

What I love about the sunflower is how hopefully and unabashedly in love with light it is. It truly turns its face towards that which nourishes, that which is good and loving (in its little sunflower world of course). Are there ways that we could take inspiration from the sunflower? Can we - should we - be a little more unabashed about leaning towards that which nourishes us? Towards those people and those activities in life that make us feel good about ourselves, that make us grow into a ripe fruition, towards laughter and nurturance? 

I am likewise provoked to wonder where in my own life I am being unlike the sunflower - am I punishing myself, pushing myself, denying myself in some ways? And if so, can I, without inner self-reproach, let go of those tendencies and simply embrace what helps me love myself?