a daisy by any other name

Is a daisy a weed or a flower? The answer is technically both. The answer depends on the location of the flower, the species, and your overall opinion. If a daisy were to pop up in the middle of your freshly manicured lawn you may have a tendency to call it a weed. However, if it popped up in the middle of your blooming flower bed you may say it adds to the beauty of the other flowers. But a daisy growing in a flower bed may not always be beautiful; it depends on the time of its bloom, the size of its accompanying family, and your goals for the flower bed. Who knew defining something so small could be so complicated.

I have always thought of a daisy as a flower. Small as it may be, its persistence in surviving both mother nature and humans desires seems admirable. Its colors so plain individually. But when put together, remind me how simple happiness can be. And a daisy rarely blooms alone. What is a flower without its brother and sisters? When I see more than one I think of it as bouquet. Pulling one up would take away from the whole. I think that's part of their plan. They know that beauty standing alone is easy to overlook, but pure beauty in gathering together is hard to disturb or overlook.

The past year of my life has had many changes and challenges. Personal loses and gains. Growing up is exciting and an adventure, but people rarely tell you that it does not come without change and loss. These changes have made me re-evaluate my faith, relationships, and my beliefs. They always say bad things come in three, but rarely do they say four, fives and sixes. In retrospect, the problems we encounter are never as bad as we see them at the time, and in comparison to others we would normally count our blessings. Never the less they affect us.

I have started thinking of these "bad things" as daisies. One bad thing may not seem so bad by itself. Its easy to pull out of the garden and get rid of. But when more than one thing hits you at the same time, its not as easy to brush them aside. The number of things that happen is then effected by the overall timing. A daisy growing at the same time as the rose bush is blooming is not desired. It would take away from the roses purity. And the timing is then effected by the goals of the flower bed. Did you just plant seeds? Where you starting from scratch? A daisy blooming in the middle of your rediscovery would be advantageous.

Its not to say that daisies are not beneficial. Sometimes the best circumstances come from the bad things. Change is not always bad. We hope that after the bad things we are better for them. That we have grown and survived that change.

Its all about perception. Stepping back and looking at the whole garden rather than a single row or bed. In the grand scheme, is a single daisy taking away from the gardens beauty? The enjoyment we find from it? Or is it just a small matter we are willing to overlook? In most cases it does not.

Worrying about a daisy seems ridiculous when faced with a true weed. One that wraps around and suffocates the violets, snapdragons and roses. There is no question they are a weed through and through. We hope in our life we do not encounter these weeds. But reality is such that most people meet one or two in their time. These are the "bad things" we need to fear. These are the "bad things" we must pray to get through, that we must call on our love ones to help. A daisy seems welcomed in the face of a true weed.

People often say "Go and smell the roses", well I say "Go and enjoy the daisies".