(image by axinia)
I met a florist lady who told me the one interesting observation of hers.
Flowers for sale are being picked up at their baby-stage, as buds.
They they are being treated with chemicals for the transportation.
Then they fly over the ocean from Latin America to Europe, being pressed in boxes.
Then they have to wait till the best price will be given for them at the auction – to be again several times transported to their final destination.
The whole time form the pick up till the final sale they are not allowed to bloom, and have to be kept in a hard condition.
And finally, when the flowers land at our warm homes, they open up and give and give and give their fragrance, beauty and joy to everyone! How much power of life and love they posses that after all that treatments they still make people happy!..
I just thought this might be a nice story to tell, because of the obvious comaprission with human being: people with beautiful souls are often compered to flowers – even if they suffer a lot, their power of love is still there to spread beauty and joy around!
And I strongly believe that everyone is such a flower.
LOVE,
axinia
axinia
1000 petals by axinia 
Axinia, at the basic level you and me come to the same conclusions. There is only a small difference.
You say: Even if they suffer a lot………
I say: As they suffer a lot………
But apart from that single word change, I accept with everything that is written above 🙂
Destination Infinity
Ok, I agree – in fact everyone suffers 😦
I only assume that some people suffer less.
Balance in everything is law of life, so u have equal high and low moments in essence….but certain people forget their sufferings as soon as they feel khush even if its far more less compared to what they have gone through…..some people dont realise thats its as bad as it is….some people cant enjoy the fruit of their efforts and bad times but remember what they have gone through even in the moment they shud feel happy!
so its all at personal level…..we cant compare, if so on what basis? it never ends…reasoning could be given to anything…..
I am looking at suffering as a positive quality. All the stress and suffering teach us a lot in a relatively short time. If you are always stress-free and happy, you tend to learn a lot more slower as you are in your comfort zone. I really don’t know how much I agree with this myself, or follow such things, but just wanted to make a point on how mind starts to look at them and wonder how many things are not under our control! Not under the control of both good and evil people, ie.
Destination Infinity
I fully stressfree life is probabaly not possible, even for a very happy person. Because there is always some negativity around that wants to be transformed into the light. And this negativity will attak the happy person anyway.
I think axinia means that some people like to see this negativity everywhere and fight it, and thus have much stress. And some others who also fight it but see it differently, as a play (I know axinia lives like that).
I get the point. I agree with 99% of what Axinia has said. But when you are able to react to negativities in life in a positive way, you ought to see the merits which are hidden into the negativities also. This fabric of life has been excellently interwoven with the clothes called emotions and feelings. These feelings are broadly classified as ‘navarasas’ – nine types of emotions and all are treated as equally important to live a fulfilling life. (Fulfilling life for who, I dont know!). Since we tend to learn more from our mistakes and bad experiences, we ought to be open to stressful and negative influences in our life atleast in order to learn and mature from them.
Destination Infinity
DI, I agree to 100% to what you have said here, thank you!
You know, even in a happy life one faces unhappy people – and here one has to learn a lesson.
Its very nice to see the way you personify such simple things like flowers.
In olden days, poets used to do this regularly.
Now you do it beautifully. 🙂
thank you Dev 🙂 I LOVE FLOWRES, and they really reminde me of people.
I love your positive outlook on the flower industry . But there is one thing that continues to worry me with the current flower industry : most flowers you buy in shops do not have a fragrance . This seems to be a relatively recent development , I don’t remember this being the case , say 20 years ago . I clearly remember buying fresias because fo their beautiful scent. But now even these dont smell . Why ? I too fell into conversation with a local florist in our village , and to my surprise she told me that even the flowers grown locally dont smell ! ( our village is / was famous for growing flowers ; there are still quite a few greenhouses left ) … would this be because of the process you described ? The same reason fruit doesnt really taste of much anymore these days ?
And I cant help wondering , are humans also running the same risk of losing their fragrance too in this ever more artificial lifestyle we are leading ?
Yesterday went up to the mountains and took some photos of some beautiful wild flowers . It brought me back to something I used to experience when I was younger : the sheer joy of the humble beauty of nature , the gentle nurturing of Mother Earth … and I realised I had been missing Her …
Erwin, you are right. Here too, mangoes are artificially ripened and they taste sour. People use artificial scents instead of jasmine flower. Passion is missing 😦
I tend to agree with Erwin about the cut-flower industry. While it’s great that people can buy exotic flowers from across the world, these flowers do have an artificial feel to them. It’s a completely different experience to look at a blooming flower on a plant and be tempted to pluck it, even if happens to be a wild flower! 🙂
You are being too kind to humans, Axinia, comparing them with flowers 😐 I prefer to compare humans with the locusts and other nasty pests that destroy flowers, leaves and entire plants 😡 Many humans are the equivalent of these nasty life-sucking creatures. In fact, comparing humans with locusts can be an insult to locusts because those insects have tiny brains that can perform just the bare basic functions. In constrast, human creatures pride themselves with having the greatest brain to body mass ratio, yet many of these low-life filthy human scum creatures behave in a way that makes locusts seem like angels.
Flowers suffer and still make us happy. But we earn our livelihood from their suffering. Axinia, it is difficult to forgive man’s stupidity.
its dedication to the purpose of one’s life, and some are really kind and compassionate in making’ other’s happiness their purpose.
I love to make others happy, but for it, I have to be happy first, right`?
🙂
So how do we stop this madness of un-authentic living … living disconnected from Mother Earth, disconnected from our roots ,disconnected from our very essence … What do you all think ? What is the solution ? Will have to wait till 2012 or do you see a way out of this madness ? I think sometimes that I must have been a Native American in a past life , because sometimes I just cant bear beeing a stupid white skin plundering and distroying Mother Earth in this blind and pointless way , only leading to our unhappiness and distruction while we sit in our perfect artificial worlds smoking cigars and drinking whisky … counting dollar bills …
This madness has to run its course. Already it has spawned crises, indicating that ‘modern’ lifestyle is unsustainable. It will end or rather, it will change; but cann’t say when.
Yes, nice, wise , balanced comment , Swaps . I agree with you .
Erwin
I completely agree with what you say! Your phrase “this madness of un-authentic living” sums up much that is wrong with us, our society and our world … honesty, authenticity, facing up to the ‘bad’, including how we are complicit in sustaining it, is so important … I think Jung’s notion of the ‘shadow’ helps … everyone has one, so few face it, or even acknowledge it is there.
Caleb, could you please extend your thought on the Jung’s notion of the “shadow” ? thanks!
Hi Axinia,
Thanks for inviting me to say a little more about the “shadow” 🙂
According to Jung the “persona” is the bright, outward, reasonable seeming aspect of our personality we project at the world, and the “shadow”, is dark place inside where all that is concealed, repressed, and denied in conscious life ends up. Envy, aggression, sense of superiority, selfishness, fear, sexuality and paranoia are all “shadow” type instincts and emotions. Civilizations have their “persona”, (rational outer form), and their “shadow”, (darker hidden purposes). For example in the west science, technology, efficiency, health, democracy, altruism and human rights are overtly projected as the “persona” of the civilization, but they conceal a “shadow” agenda of war, exploitation, enslavement, ecological degradation, and a population addicted to self interest, fantasy and materialism.
Jung say’s that when the impulses that surge beneath civilization, are “stringently repressed” and not openly admitted, or illuminated and given space in consciousness, “disaster often ensues”. In classical Jungian analysis the process of ”individuation” or self-integration is achieved by becoming more aware of what the shadow contains; honest confrontation produces individual and communal psychic health. Jungians believe “the balance of light and dark is ultimately possible – and bearable” and that “repair of our fractured world must start with individuals who have the insight and courage to own their own shadow”.
Caleb, that is highy interesting!
Once again I am impressed my Jung, whom I never mananged to read in total.
Caleb , thanks for sharing Jung’s notion of the “shadow ” . I think like for Axinia, Jung is one of those great thinkers I intuitively know I agree with , but without having ever gotten around to reading his work . ( I admit that I am lazy when it comes to reading …)
And I enjoyed your previous comment about being more authentic and “facing ” one’s shadow . Just the other day I dipped into a box with little cards with quotes on them we keep for those moments when needing inspiration or guidance , and the quote I picked up read : ” You have to see your problems , face them and find their cause. Then, the lotus that you are will be able to open .”
So this is for you too Axinia ; yes , we are like flowers in potential …just waiting to open and bloom …
so lets open and bloom, what are we wating for???????????
🙂
” You have to see your problems , face them and find their cause. ” This bit i guess …
It is not always as simple as “said and done” . ( at the risk of sounding a defeatest … I am just trying to be a realist . Things can take time … ) I guess the problem might be really seeing one’s “shadow” and the real causes of some of these unwanted negative addictions , ( or even seemigly “positive” addictions too ! ), which sometimes on a subtle psicological level we may not even be fully aware of . And then to really find their cause, ( which I think is the only way to really root them out ) , might be even harder …
sure, but having a good and pure attention helps a lot and works really fast! You know…just you look a the thing and just KNOW about it.
PS: that’s why I once said you are like a ray of sunshine ,sister . you are always so marvellously positive : ) !!
So …Yes , we can !!
An afterthought on flowers blooming : there is just one thing a flower must have in order to bloom : water . Without it , even the most beautiful flower will simply wilt away .
In a similar way,humans in order to bloom like flowers , need the water of love . Without it ,we just can not open and bloom . Without it we can not get rid of our shadow . If we are surrounded by Pure Love , I believe all the bad tendencies in us belonging to our shadow can simply melt away …
beautiful metaphor, Erwin…water! and Kundalini is the water of life…
Saint Jordi’s Day in Catalonia : another little reflexion on flowers ( please see entry on my blog : )
your story gives a nice out look on life of suffering-blows . even after a blow life gives if one smiles and smile that’s All is needed.Keep smiling – an everlasting smile