I give you, child, this beautiful flower. What will you do with it?
One child immediately starts pulling petals off… Is it because they are curious, or because they have angst to purge? Do they realize how they have interrupted its beauty? Or how have they changed it forever? Perhaps they lament this later, and regret the haste in not considering the fragility and impermanence more…perhaps not.
I give you, child, this beautiful flower. What will you do with it?
One child immediately puts it in water, and high up on a protective shelf. They are in love with the flower, and want it to live forever. They can barely see its colors or intricacies, or how it changes as the life eventually leaves it. When the flower reaches its eventual demise, the child weeps with sorrow, and wonders why it couldn’t live forever. The child never really understood the flower…
I give you, child, this beautiful flower. What will you do with it?
Another child studies the flower closely, and twirls it in their fingers. They put it in water on the window in their room, and gaze at it in awe. It inspires thought…poetry…music…sketches…as it journeys through its limited lifespan. Eventually the flower is gone, but the memory is captured, and with the child forever.
I give you, child, this beautiful flower. What will you do with it?
This child looks at the flower and sees no value. They drop it to the ground as they turn to run and play. The flower is drampled in the dirt…ignored and forgotten.
I give you, child, this beautiful flower. What will you do with it?
This child looks at the flower and sees its beauty, and wants to share it with the world. They round up others to see it, but don’t let anyone else too close. They want others to see this prized possession and be envious…to wish they were them. When the flower eventually dies, the child looks for something else to replace it, feeling lessened without it.
I give you, child, this beautiful flower. What will you do with it?
Another child accepts the flower with gratitude, and sees its beauty, but after pondering it, thinks someone else will appreciate it even more. It gives the flower to someone else, and brightens their day.
I give you, child, this beautiful flower. What will you do with it?
This child admires the flower, but immediately see how it's beauty will be enhanced by adding more flowers and foliage to it. It makes a beautiful bouquet where the flower shines more being surrounded by others.
I give you, child, this beautiful flower. What will you do with it?
Each day we are surrounded by fields of flowers…an infinite variety of colors and configurations.
What will we see? Do we even see them at all? Are we focused on the other options that take us away from the gardens? The distractions…the obligations that tell us there is not time for looking at such things. Or the shadows that keep us alert and focused on our fear of the unknown. How is our sight amplified or hindered by our current state of mind/emotion?
What will we choose? In the options available to us: what is it we choose? What are we attracted to? How do we refine our path in these choices?
What will we do with it? How will we use this choice, and this gift? Do we recognize how often we are deciding the fate of so many flowers? Do we recognize how often we are deciding the fate of our lives?
