Take a ruin for example, any ruin – isn’t it prettier with colorful flowers all around it? Those fragile little beings make everything look healthier and more… complete.

Flowers can’t speak and they can’t move so there is no way that they could hug you and comfort you, and yet, they somehow do all that just by sitting there and doing nothing… And in spite of their tenderness and fragility, they still represent strength, defiance, stubbornness, courage, humility, compassion, and love.

I had never thought about flowers like this until I talked with a friend who works in a flower shop. She practically made me look at plants with some fresh pair of eyes. Before that, flowers, trees and grass were just a part of nature and even though I respected them, I hadn’t seen anything special about them.

Last year, that friend of mine, visited an Annual Arts Convention in France and got a new tattoo. She really likes tattoos and easily gets misjudged because of that. She is aware of that stereotypical thinking about people with tattoos and that is why she always tries to either cover them, or just have them on some easily concealable places. That is how I recently noticed a “picture” of a tiny cute cactus on her ankle.

“Strange looking tattoo if you ask me. Who in a right mind tattoos a cactus?! You traveled all the way to France only to get a tiny cactus? Why?” – I asked that without thinking about her feelings or possible hidden meanings that could be hiding behind that cute little picture on her ankle.

“I am glad you asked that. You see, almost all well-known types of cacti sport some kind of painful protective feature. They will endure everything, no matter how painful or difficult. You try to hurt them and you will get hurt. However, if you are gentle and patient with them, they will blossom and produce some of the most beautiful flowers you could ever see. That’s me.”

And she was right. We do live in a cruel CRUEL world and everywhere you look you see people that only look “tough” but what they actually want is just a little bit of love and compassion.

That made me realize that there was more to learn from nature, especially when we observe those subtle characteristics of flowers.

Try to Focus on Good in Your Life

I have a small garden in my backyard. It is divided in two almost identical halves with the same soil and same kind of flowers. Both halves looked good, but the right half looked more like some forest.

I tried to pay attention to it and noticed that I actually accidentally watered the other side just a little more each night. That “little more” was enough for one side to grow noticeably better than the other side. It got me to ask myself “What thoughts am I watering just a little more than others?”

If the bad things in your life are bigger than the good, try watering the good and stop wasting all your water (focus) on those bad things.

Try to Spread Happiness Around You, Just like Flowers Do

Flowers are extremely fragile however, they find a way to our hearts. Their colors and the perfume they have are the ones that make us happy. And the best thing in the world is to bring happiness to other people. And in order to bring joy to others you first need to find happiness in your own heart.

This is why you should always try to enrich your life with quality music, tender feelings, and good people.

Unconditional Love

Whenever we have to congratulate someone for something, the first idea of a gift which comes to our mind is a bunch of flowers. They are the perfect gift in any possible occasion. And when someone gives flowers to us we feel loved too.

Life itself is a flower. It never stops growing and blossoming (as long as we keep watering it properly). When we give flowers as gifts, they become a personal expression of our feelings for each other. They make people smile.

This is why you should practice the unconditional love every single day. Just like flowers do.

Be Defiant, Just like Flowers Are!

Flowers can grow in the most extreme conditions. They are good survivors and they learned to thrive in the most extreme conditions. Whether it is growing under water or in the depths of the coldest tundra, flowers prove that even the most delicate looking creature is strong enough to survive in the most dangerous and harshest of conditions. It will also find its way through all kinds of obstacles including rocks and the concrete. They are stubborn little creatures.

Be Gentle and Treat Everyone with Compassion

A flower doesn’t know anything about race, color, gender, or age. It will be gentle and generous towards everyone. It exposes its life and hopes for the best. It doesn’t care if someone’s boot is about to step over it. It neither knows nor cares what caste or creed it stands for, nor does it see any distinction between rich and poor.

Flowers do not conceal their beauty and every person can experience it, see it, feel it, enjoy it, and share it. No discrimination of any kind.

Open up, bring down all the barriers and share the love.

Conclusion: Be more like a flower, and treat your life as you treat flowers.

Give your life a good amount of warm happiness, water it with a lot of love, provide a nice amount of freedom (to breathe), and make sure to have a good soil to strive (take care of your family and friends).