Slow down to See / Smell the Flowers

The other day I was biking down a road that I’ve driven frequently over the past decade and noticed something I’d never noticed before…

About 4-5 meters from the ground, up in the canopy of a gorgeous Sitka Spruce, grew a gorgeous Nootka Rose in full bloom. It wouldn’t have begun its life at the top of this branch, but instead started on the forest floor like all the other shrubs, and gradually had a vertical shoot that found its way into this branch and used it as scaffolding to grow from. Above the competition on the forest floor but still connected by its root to the soil, this Rose has thrived, finding a new niche to inhabit. What a testament to the beauty of life’s resilience, hey?!

Just an important reminder of how beneficial breaking up the monotonous daily grind can be, and how when we slow down, and do something different, how quickly our perspective can change to appreciate the things we never had time to notice before.

Slow down to see, and smell, the flowers.