213 Windowsill

Searching for answers

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213 Windowsill
Body sneezed as she cut, prepared and placed the Lilies in the vase. They had such a lovely scent, but it made her sneeze.

“What does it mean?” the Little Red Haired Girl asked “to gild a Lily?” as Body remembered an advert starring Felicity Kendall promoting chocolate buttons.
“You cannot guild a Lily” Body remembered.
“But what does it mean?” the child continued.

“It means one cannot improve on the appearance or scent, or taste or sound. When it comes to the advert in question with the chocolate buttons, i.e. they taste good without a fancy wrapping. Overall it means the object is beautiful as it is, standing on it’s own and has no need to be improved upon” Brain ventured.
“Not just it’s appearance either” Spirit called. “It’s beauty is complete inside and out just as it is. Just as it is meant to be.”

“Do they not look prettier placed in a vase?” the child asked going back to the Lilies.
“Yes” Body answered “but can look equally as pretty growing in the garden or a field.”
“Can’t Nana place them in shapes at flower club and make them look prettier?”
“Yes, it’s possible with care and if you take out the orange seeds so they don’t mark the petals or anything else.”
“Stamens” Brain corrected.
“Can they be made to look prettier at a wedding or a funeral?” the child continued.
“Yes it’s possible ” Body answered. “They help to remember people fondly. Remember who they love.”
“How?” the child asked as Body grew tired of the never ending questions.

“Maybe because they were the favourite flower of that person being honoured or remembered” Heart offered as an answer.
“Nana’s was Freesias I remember the name coz they was like the cows” the child offered.
“Each flower choice also had their own meanings back in the day, before communication was so instant as it is online or on the phone nowadays” Heart remembered “like Forget-me-nots and violets. There was a whole history about what flowers to use to convey a particular message. What message they gave in the language of love.”
“I wouldn’t know” Brain remarked casually “I have never really thought to enquire more about it. I know violets were sent to convey faithfulness, modesty and everlasting love. Forget -me- nots were meant to represent true love and remembrance. but I can research more if you like.”

“Either way” Soul sighed “flowers are truly beautiful as they were created and cannot be gilded wherever they are placed. Each flower or plant species is unique. Whatever their shape or scent, and the habitat they like to grow in.”
“Habitat?” the child repeated.
“OK lets simplify,” sighed Soul “it means how much water, sun, and the type of soil they like. You would not expect a cactus to grow in the same place as a Tulip would you? They require different amounts of water, sun and types of soil. Where they thrive is uniquely created for each species and although a cactus is prickly, it is perfectly designed for where it lives and therefore is equally as beautiful.”
“Not exactly simplified Soul” Brain mocked.

“You can grow a cactus on a windowsill” the child countered.
“True” Spirit laughed “but you have to treat it well, take care of it and give it the conditions it likes to grow in.”
“Like no water?”
“Very little water” Spirit offered “You can try and copy the conditions it likes in nature, and if you are lucky and careful, it will survive on a windowsill. Flowers though, if they are cut from where they are grown, will only last a short amount of time as you have taken away their roots. You can try to copy the amount of water and food they need but sooner or later they will die. Their life cannot be copied, only enjoyed temporarily.”

“Then they are best left alone to grow where they will so they can sow their seeds ready for next year” Heart suggested.
“But I like flowers in the house” Body argued.
“So do I” the Little Red Haired Girl agreed.
“Then you have to accept you cannot copy their needs completely, accept their beauty as they are inside and out and know they are only temporary” Soul sighed. “Nothing you can do can make them more beautiful than they already are. Nothing you can copy to make them last longer. Nothing you can offer to compare to them and their temporary beauty. They are created beautifully, each one of them.”

“Some hurt you and have the prickles” the child continued “like Grandads roses. Some leave stains on the tablecloth like the orange seeds. Some change colour the instant you pick them like them blue wild flowers that went white.”
“Those” Brain corrected. “It’s a question of giving them the proper and appropriate care for the needs of the species.”
“It doesn’t matter” the child didn’t question the word ‘species’ and stubbornly stated “they all are as they are. You know what you’re getting.”
“If you learn how to take care of them and expect nothing more or less than what they are” Spirit called.

“Flowers and plants actually emit sound and energy too” Brain intercepted “We can’t hear it, but with the right scientific equipment one can.”
The child went quiet as Body looked at her orange thumb and forefinger from pinching off the stamens. She should have used the scissors instead and wished that occasionally fake flowers could be used but had never found any to match the real beauty of natural flowers.
“And you never will” Heart replied “for their living essence cannot be copied.”
“Or gilded” the child repeated her newly found word.
“They are authentic” Soul agreed.

“Can I make a wish then?” the child asked from left side of field.
“Oh OK” Heart replied “What is the wish?”
“That people were more like flowers then it would be simple.”
“Err… I guess so” but Brain was struggling with the concept.
“At least you know what you’re getting” the child stated.
“They might not be what you would like?” Heart murmured.
“Then at least you decide betterer next time” the child confirmed “and learn what they need and when.”
“Better” Brain corrected.
“True” called Spirit “and whether they bring joy to you too. It’s no good having them at all otherwise. They have to be worth the effort of the care you take of them. It works both ways if you put them on the windowsill and bring them into your life.”
“See…it’s a good wish!” the child exclaimed.
“Can you love them as they are?” Soul asked “Can you love them despite the prickles or particular needs? Can you love them temporarily? After all, you placed them there.”
“Not always” Spirit called it out. “Sometimes it’s just best to leave them alone growing where they are and love them from a distance. Everyone gets to see them then, everyone gets to enjoy them, everyone has a choice to appreciate them or not. I call out anyone who is selfish enough to put them on the windowsill and then not take care of them be it temporarily or otherwise. It causes harm without any of the benefit of the joy.”

“I think we are referring to abandonment here” Brain concluded. “Why destroy the life of anyone or anything for temporary gain that ends up pleasing no one.”
“Depends on their intentions” replied Heart “sometimes and often, we cannot know in advance what we end up doing, what to expect or what to do to preserve? Sometimes it is just the way it is.”

“If you don’t want the flowers don’t pick em” the child announced. “It is simple and I wish people were.”

“We cannot always have what we wish child” Heart murmured.
“We need to be careful what we wish for too” Spirit called.
“It does not stop us having hope though” sighed Soul. “We can hope that next time the plants and flowers bloom, we have learnt how to take care of them. Our time here is so short.”

“Are we are talking about forgiveness now?” questioned Brain. “some things can be forgiven for sure, for the benefit of our own ‘windowsill’, but don’t ask me to forget and bring any poison, however beautiful, back into the house. I won’t do it.”
“Agreed” they all stated. “we will get our own house in order.”

“Talk to me” Big voice stated “Where is your windowsill? Where are you placing your care? Is it at a useful and sunny height? Would anything survive there? What would be the purpose of it’s placement? Talk to me.”