Chapter 30: Take time to stop and smell the flowers.
“And for all I know he is sitting there still, under his favorite cork tree, smelling the flowers just quietly. He is very happy.” - The Story of Ferdinand by Murno Leaf
I love the book The Story of Ferdinand. In the story, a bull learns that he loves smelling flowers, not fighting matadors. He is a large, strong bull who is forced to fight, but who, instead, sits down and smells the flowers the people throw into the ring. He is rewarded with not fighting by being returned to his hilltop full of flowers to enjoy the rest of his years. This book, written in 1936, was banned during the Spanish Civil War, and again by Hitler during World War II because it promoted peace and understanding instead of war. This book, a book that has been in publication since it’s making, understood that sometimes you need to just take time to stop and smell the flowers.
I went to college to study horticulture and urban forestry. There, I had the opportunity to learn so much about flowers and plants. Before that though, I was instilled with a love of all things growing and blooming by my parents and my grandma who had beautiful gardens full of flowers and trees. Working in the yard with them and then later attending labs and lectures in college, I was able to develop a deeper appreciation of plants.
When I moved to Colorado, I was able to see mountain wildflowers for the first time. I never knew how tiny alpine forget-me-nots were! Watching all the flowers bloom throughout the late spring and summer is one of my favorite things to do. The colors and designs that each flower possesses could only be created by the Creator of the world. He made them for a purpose, for food for animals and insects, and for our enjoyment. God could have made all flowers the exact same color and texture, but instead, he mixed every color of the rainbow with every petal design you could ever imagine. What an inspiring inventor of plants!
How often, when you’re going from place to place, do you take the time to stop and smell the flowers? Do you appreciate the smell of the lilacs and peonies? Do you take time to notice the delicate intricacies of the bleeding hearts? Do you watch each beautiful dandelion seed float through the air on the way to its new destination? If God designed all of these flowers for our pleasure, we should take the time to receive the benefit of enjoyment from them. In life, do you take the time to find the beauty and humor in every situation? We can easily get bogged down by all the wrong happening or worries of this world, when we should focus, instead, on finding what is lovely and enjoyable.
In the camping world, it’s easy to fixate on what isn’t happening right. You were supposed to go on a day-long hike with students and instead, it dumps snow and you can’t go. This could be looked at as a negative inconvenience when it could be looked at as a time to teach an in-depth indoor lesson and then go out and have an epic snowball fight. Once, Mr. Modern-Day Mountain Man was driving a bus full of campers up and over Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park. The bus decided to break down at the highest point of the drive and the farthest place from a good resting point for campers. The campers were upset that they wouldn’t reach their destination, the teachers were worried they would be stuck there for a long while with campers in a remote location, and the driver (Mr. M-D MM) was having a blast. Here was an opportunity to really teach these campers something about life and adapting to adversity all while enjoying the situation you are thrown into. Once he contacted camp on the radio and informed them that they would have to send a vehicle to transport the campers back to camp, he took the time to lead an epic alpine mountain hike. The campers learned correct alpine hiking, they saw and identified many species of flowers, and were able to see the mountains and animals from a true “bird’s eye view”. This impromptu activity is still talked about among the campers and staff. Being able to roll with the punches and find the good in a situation is key to the success of a program. Taking the time to literally smell the flowers was key to keeping the campers and teachers happy, calm, and engaged until help could arrive.
Ferdinand the bull took time to sit down and smell the flowers. He focused on slowing down and finding joy in every situation. Jesus told us to consider the lilies of the field and their perfect garments. Every day we are faced with challenges and opportunities to either find the good or dwell on the bad. When we stop to smell the flowers, take the time to observe what is happening around us, and find joy in the situation, we will find ourselves to be much happier and content with our life. Take time every day to find one good thing about every situation. Enjoy the journey!
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