Can you be like a flower?
A flower doesn’t stop being beautiful just because somebody walks by without noticing it, nor does it cease to be fragrant if its scent is taken for granted. The flower just continues to be its glorious self: elegant, graceful, and magnificent.
Mother Nature has provided us with these immeasurably valuable teachers that blossom despite their short life spans, stars that continue to shine even if we fail to stare at them, and trees that don’t take it personally if we never bow down in gratitude for the oxygen they provide.
We also have such an incredible and unlimited capacity to love, but the question is: Can we do it like a flower? Without needing to be admired, adored, or even noticed? Can we open our hearts completely to give, forgive, celebrate, and joyfully live our lives without hesitation or need for reciprocity?
Sometimes it seems that we are noticeably deflated when unappreciated. In fact, devastated, we often wilt in sorrow. We get hurt if our astonishing feat is unrecognized, if a loved one pulls their hand away, or a friend forgets our birthday.
Can you imagine a flower copping an attitude for not being praised or the moon dimming its glow because we’re too self-absorbed to notice it more often?
We can make an effort to shine no matter what, to love unconditionally, to be a kind and gentle soul (even when nobody is watching). And February 14th is as good a day as any to remember this!
If you’re so inclined, you might even hug the next tree you see and say, “Thank you!”