Everybody likes flowers

Oh sure, I’m sure that certain folks have allergies and certain reactions to them and I can try and sympathize but barring the inevitable rashes, runny noses, sneezing fits and any other assorted discomforts and ailments that come with the territory, do you blame the flower for your plight? Maybe, if the condition has become so severe that life has become unbearable you might just do that. But then again, would that be cause to rid the world of flowers and take them away from all the other folks who find a simple beauty in them? I hope, that for those of you who are unfortunate enough not to be able to breathe their scent, that even looking at them in pictures must bring a certain joy to your heart even though you’re not physically possible of smelling their wonderful bouquet.

It’s kind of odd about flowers. They seem to bloom in the strangest of places. From the Arctic Circle to the deserts of the world, from the cracks in the sidewalk to the rooftops of the tenements, in the largest of gardens and the tiniest of spaces, if they can take root, chances are they’re going to grow and blossom.

I dunno, I don’t think you have to be practioner of horticulture or anything to appreciate them. From personal experience, all I can say is that I’ve taken plenty enough trips around the orb and I always get a certain pleasure knowing that when Spring comes, seedlings are going to crack the darkness of the ground and go looking for that little bit of light they need to survive. Often, they must compete with weeds who look to strangle them at every turn and take over whatever space that they can. Many times, as they mature into buds, they need our tender care to help to promote them and give them a safe haven in which to survive.

Come to think of it, I don’t know if there’s a more revered item in the world. Think to yourself for a moment, they’ve been the subject of artists, poets, and song writers alike. From Vincent van Gogh’s masterpiece “Sunflowers to Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass to the countless references made to them in song, flowers play a prominent place in our little world. But then again, their beauty is not only limited to those types of people whom many consider their muse. How many folks do you know might keep them, long after they’ve run their course, pressed into diaries and photo albums and use to them to stir memories that, even if only for a little while, warm their hearts and soothe their minds? Many of us with younger children know that the flower is one of the first images a kid starts to draw when they’re old enough to pick up a box of crayons.

Tell me of a generation, an age, or a group of people who would not look at flowers and the beauty that they bring to the world and not have a smile cross their face. As simple as they are, flowers know no boundaries, no races, no sexual orientations, no politics, no allegiances or no affiliations. They are somehow blinding in their innocence and yet, we are not blinded. A rare thing that.

Shame on the people who would rather starve a flower or crush it under their boot heel rather than nurture it and watch it grow. Shame on those who would pluck them away and keep them to themselves rather than share them with the rest of the world. Shame on those who would rather have a barren garden than one filled with color and with life.

There’s one final thought I have about our friend the flower. While they’re delicate in nature and pleasing to the eye, it turns out that they’re pretty tough and resilient little customers. Just when you think they might be gone, they wind up sprouting someplace else and bringing their beauty to some other part of the world.

Just think how you would feel if you weren’t around to see it, or, better yet, try picturing yourself in a world without them.

I’m guessing that for most of us, it’d be a little darker place.