A common thought I used to have was that flowers were frivolous. I couldn’t justify the purchase of a bouquet for myself. It seemed frivolous, an expenditure that I couldn’t justify. Interestingly enough, that was when I was probably at one of the lowest points in my life in terms of happiness.
I’m doing much better now. I also have flowers every week. While completely unscientific, I’d like to believe the latter is correlated with the former, and that the sign of flowers may be at least a barometric measure of whether things are going well or not.
Money is a bit tight for everyone nowdays. We are all worrying about the economy, the future of our jobs, and looming issues like debt, international issues of politics and devastating epidemics. In times like these, I feel it is more important than ever that we focus on the things that are important for us. For me, that means flowers. They feed the soul, nourish my well-being, and brighten up what can be an utterly hopeless daily grind of work, laundry, cleaning and sleeping.
A 2005 Rutger’s study showed that the presence of flowers improves the well-being of one’s life. We have all experienced this effect when in the presence of flowers, whether at a wedding, in a garden, or just walking by the floral arrangements at the store.
Don’t we deserve flowers?
I find that an investment in something as simple as a $5 bouquet makes a great difference for me. The sight of flowers greeting me at home brightens my day every time. It’s worth the investment in regards to the joy it brings me.
~K
A Dog and Two Boys 