Bach Flower Database

Botany: Ulex europaeus
Preparation: Sun Method
Represents: Hope

The gorse personality is marked by an eternal sense of hope. Even in the face of great personal struggle, positive gorse personalities remain convinced that if they can just hang in there a little longer, things will improve.

The negative gorse personality is characterized mainly by the abandonment of hope. People who have experienced long-term financial difficulties often find themselves slipping in a negative gorse state, as do people who have lived with chronic illness for many years.

Imagine a young mother working long hours just to make ends meet. She grew up in a poor household in an area where jobs were few and far between. To help support her family, our young woman went to work right out of high school. Over the years, she's worked a variety of low-paying jobs. Today, she is a secretary at a sheet metal supply company.

Our young woman would like to go to college but scholarships are few and far between. Besides, she needs every penny she's making right now to support her children. Like so many, this young mother is trapped in a cycle of low-paying jobs. She can't afford to take time off work for further schooling but she can't get a better job without it.

To children and friends, she appears to be a "real trooper", as her grandmother might have said. She puts on a brave face every day and cheerfully marches off to another day of work. In truth, though, our woman has secretly given up any hope that she'll ever be anything more than "just a secretary".

This woman is in a negative gorse state. The years of working long hours just to keep up have simply worn her down. She has given up any real hope that her life will change and is resigned to die one step above poverty. To put it another way, she has given up.

The Positive Gorse State

In a positive gorse state, souls realize that suffering--no matter how minor--always offers potential for positive personal growth. Gorse personalities embrace hardship and look forward to a future that offers a promise of better times. The also encourage and empower others to believe, too.