Life Matters

A dandelion a day

By LINDA PETERSEN
Posted 5/8/19

When I walked out of my house this bright and sunny morning, the vibrant gold of the forsythia caught my eye. What a happy color! The blooming, purple rhododendrons sitting next to them were similarly vivid and cheerful. With a skip in my step, I smiled

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in
Life Matters

A dandelion a day

Posted

When I walked out of my house this bright and sunny morning, the vibrant gold of the forsythia caught my eye.

What a happy color! The blooming, purple rhododendrons sitting next to them were similarly vivid and cheerful. With a skip in my step, I smiled as I made my way to the car. It really is amazing how flowers can brighten my day!

When my children were younger, we gathered flowers during our after dinner walk in the neighborhood, and picking them by the side of the road became a favorite activity. The children would shout with glee as they pounced upon each blossom. Brilliantly yellow dandelions comprised most of the bouquets because they were plentiful and not on private property. Occasionally Queen Anne’s lace, with its delicate white flowers, or vividly yellow Black Eyed Susans would find their way into the mix. Once home, they would pick a few flowers from our yard to add to the vase, making a happy creation to brighten our home, destined to be replaced by another bouquet the following day.

It is without hesitation that I can declare that flowers are wonderful! They can make you feel better when you are sick. Who hasn’t felt their spirits lifted when a flower arrangement has been delivered in a hospital? The pain you are in, or the despair you are feeling, is diminished with the appearance of beautiful blossoms by your bedside, given with love and encouragement.

Flowers can be used to express condolences. One particularly difficult Thanksgiving after my mother passed away, I opened my front door to find a casual acquaintance with a huge bouquet of autumn colored flowers; orange dahlias, purple calla lilies, red roses and husky colored chrysanthemums, all tied together with a big ginger colored bow. Those flowers, especially coming from someone with whom I had not had a conversation in years, warmed my heart as tears of appreciation slid down my cheeks. A hug was not enough of a thank you for such a considerate gesture, but it was all I had at the time.

Flowers can be given on special occasions, such as Mother’s Day or birthdays. Hubby, who is definitely the most romantic between the two of us, regularly brings home flowers just to say he loves me. They grace our dining room table and make me smile all week.

While my instincts tell me that getting flowers is beneficial, an expert I am not. What a fun subject to investigate! Google, here I come!

Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, recently did a six-month behavioral study on the aging population that often faces social isolation, memory loss and depression. Citing the need to find new ways to ease the anxieties of daily life, this experiment involved 100 seniors, some who received flowers and some who did not. Seniors who received flowers showed a significant increase in happiness and positive moods. These same seniors performed higher on every day memory tasks, and felt energized to re-engage with their families, neighbors and other members of their community, including participation in more religious activities. All of the individuals exhibited excited smiles when they received the flowers and demonstrated extraordinary delight and gratitude, with smiles lingering long after the initial presentation of the flowers. Later in the day, they reported feeling less depressed and anxious and demonstrated a higher sense of enjoyment and life satisfaction.

Dr. Haviland-Jones, the director of the study, stated, “Common sense tells us that flowers make us happy. Now we have proven that not only do they make us happier than we know, but they have strong positive effects on our emotional well being.”

She reports that as we grow older and life becomes more stressful, we look for easy and natural ways to enhance our lives. “Now, one simple answer is right under our noses. Happier people live longer, happier lives”, said Haviland-Jones.

Count me in! I want to make the world happier, so giving flowers is going to be in my gift repertoire for birthdays, special occasions and “just because.”

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here