Sunflowers and Other Nonconformists

Summer was setting in the rearview mirror. I accelerated west along Route 48, vowing to outrun September. The month announced itself, not with a conventional calendar, but with a riot of gold that had erupted on Elijah’s Lane. The sunflowers were back.

I pulled over to photograph this living Van Gogh taking root at the roadside. Negotiating mud puddles, I brushed aside drunken bees (and the thought of my EpiPen lying idle in the kitchen drawer). Framing the shot, I spotted it….

The Nonconformist.

Heliotropism notwithstanding, there was but a single sunflower among this army of botanic soldiers who dared to step out of formation. The reason for the secession was a mystery.

A mature bloom, perhaps? As they age, sunflowers become more rigid and stop following the sun. Eventually they remain east-facing, the favored direction of evolution. But The Nonconformist defiantly faced…south?

In isolation, the deviant seemed typical of the species Helianthus annuus. There were no apparent physical differences. That was unsurprising. After all, environmental factors are constant across the field. For one thing, they bask in the same sunshine. Also, they drink the same rain and bend in the same breeze. Finally, they root in the same soil.

Therefore, with no explanation visible to the naked eye, context becomes critical. There is nothing notable about The Nonconformist unless we see it as part of the field. Only then can we appreciate its differences.

Philosophically, this poses a broader question. What judgments does society make about nonconformists? Are they perceived as despised rogues, dissidents, and oddballs? Or, do we identify them as celebrated leaders, innovators, and pioneers? Two sets of words, one pejorative, one praiseful. Which do we choose?

With this blog, I choose praise. I seek to celebrate these forward thinkers. They are the innovators, originals, and nonconformists who color the way we live, play and do business. I invite you to join me.

Sheryl Tierney is the author of a new blog, On Innovation: Celebrating Forward Thinkers. In it she spotlights those innovators, originals, and nonconformists who color the way we live, play and do business.