There’s a rare sight in Death Valley right now. One of the driest and hottest places on earth doesn’t look so desolate at the moment, as thousands of wildflowers coat the ground. It’s a phenomenon that hasn’t been seen to this extent since 2005, and something so breathtakingly beautiful that flocks of tourists have headed to Death Valley National Park to see the flowers firsthand. The growth of so many flowers in the area is really a miraculous sight. Although there are typically wildflowers that bloom seasonally in Death Valley, they are normally short-lived and only grow in certain areas. Due to a larger than normal amount of rain in the fall, the park typically gets just two inches of rain per year but got more than that in a single rainstorm in October, the place that has holds the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded (134 degrees Fahrenheit in 1913) is now a sight to behold.

I heard about the superbloom back when the flowers first really started to appear and, after devouring all the beautiful photography I could of the phenomenon, it got me thinking. If wild flowers can survive, and even thrive, in a place as desolate as Death Valley, what does that say about human beings? These beautiful wildflowers are able to blossom under very harsh circumstances, which is something that I think can serve as inspiration to all of us, even during the darkest of times.

There’s something to be said for being resilient, for being able to pull yourself back up and be successful, even after a tragedy or loss. To me, the superbloom in Death Valley serves as a reminder that even though life is tough, something beautiful can come from the trials. “When it rains, it pours” but that doesn’t mean that the rain isn’t making the way for something beautiful to blossom, even if it takes a while for the beauty to be revealed.

I know that life is hard – trust me, I know – but there’s always something that can be learned from difficult periods. When it seems like you’re in a wasteland, it’s nice to think that there is something great coming, even if it’s too far away to see at the moment.

The image of beautiful wildflowers making their way through the cracked, parched earth of Death Valley, like in the picture above, is one that I know will stick with me. When times are hard and the going gets rough, I have faith that something beautiful will come out of it, even if it takes a while. I know that personally, I can look back on my own life right now and see that through the hard times – the ‘drought,’ so to speak – there was something being cultivated that only needed a little water to sprout into something magnificent.

If you’re interested in learning more about the superbloom, you can visit the Death Valley National Park website. While most of the blooms have become sparse, there’s some wonderful photography all over the web that captured the rare occurrence in addition to the pictures posted here!