Stop and Smell the Roses
Have you’d ever gone somewhere, maybe a mall or a park or even standing on a sidewalk, and just taken a a few minutes to observe all that was a going on around you? In this observation, do you use more than just your eyes? Did your ears play a part or your nose or your skin? When we use all our senses, a new appreciation for all around us can inspire us. It can open a door for a unique experience. It can bring back memories. It can show us the good in people.
I love flowers. Put me in a beautiful garden and I can be happy wondering around, looking from one blossom to another, smelling the scent of all those blossoms. I like to look closely at the delicate veins in the petals and leaves. I look for water droplets and sometimes see amazing reflections in those tiny spheres. If I search carefully, I can find intricate spiderwebs. I can see vibrant colors in the petals of a flower and soft, muted greens in the leaves. I’ve seen blossoms as tiny as the head on a pin. I’ve seen some as big as a dinner plate. I’ve felt soft and almost fuzzy plants. I’ve seen some plants with awful thorns, as long as an inch and sharp as a needle. Some plants have a wonderful fragrance that permeates the air. Others can smell obnoxious!
What if I compare people to the flower garden. In my garden of people, I would find such a variety! There would be the old and the young, the feeble and the strong, the dominate and the passive. Each has its own uniqueness. For, just like a flower or a leaf, no two are the same.
It’s wonderful it is that way! Imagine a flower garden of only red roses. Roses are beautiful flowers, but if all we ever saw was a red rose, it would become so ordinary we might not even notice it. As you look for uniqueness in those people around you, what do you find? I see people with experience and knowledge in fields I don’t understand. I see talents in creating music, art, culinary delicacies, computer programs, designing buildings, airplanes, cars…Some instruct while some entertain.
Diversity is one of the things I’m grateful to have. Yes, I love gardens, but I’d get really tired of roses everywhere. I invite you to stop, look around, and see the beauty all round, not just in flowers, trees, the sky…Look at people and see them as the wondrous creations each of us are.