“Flowers die..”
As a florist I work with live flowers as a profession, yes, but also for the joy of it.
My customers tell me sometimes that they don’t want to give flowers as a gift because “flowers die.” Such an obvious truth, how can I respond to that? How do I adequately express that it is exactly because “flowers die” that we should give them as gifts?
Flowers are temporary. They bloom from a new bud into the peak of perfection of aroma and beauty and then, yes, they die. The bloom withers, the stem weakens, and the petals fall. It is the very fact that they are temporary that makes them special as a gift. You can’t put a flower in the closet and enjoy it later when you have time. You can’t put it in the freezer and thaw it out when you want to enjoy it. Flowers force you to make the time to enjoy them on their mortality schedule. Flowers do not have the magical power of intention. They do not have thought and purpose. They don’t even know that they are going to die. It is the giver of flowers that knows these things.
So as you are having a bad day, your bills are past due, the boss is making you crazy, you can’t wait to enjoy the blooms while you coddle your broken spirit. If you wait, the flowers will indeed die. You must put your sorrow aside to allow yourself the time to enjoy the flowers and then allow that temporary moment of time lift your spirit. Do not wait. You must do it now because “flowers die.”
