I.
Love.
Flowers.
When I was 5, and had just moved into my new apartment (after living for one year in the apartment next to it), I discovered my very first treasure. As soon as we got to the apartment, my brothers and I began to explore it thoroughly, using a complex system of hiding, then having one of us seek the other three out -- Lewis and Clark definitely pale in comparison. It was the first day, so a lot of things were still unpacked in big boxes and such, and though this would be our second move that year, the thrill of a new experience fascinated us.
4...3...2...1...Ready or not, here I come!
As I quickly and quietly dove behind the shear yellow curtains (you could tell I was especially good at this game), I poked around a half open cabinet by my feet, trying not to sneeze from all the dust that had accumulated all around it. It seemed as though the cabinet hadn't been touched for years. There was a bunch of dusty magazines and newspapers and loose paper clips everywhere. The cabinet was disgustingly packed, and very unorganized. But, it didn't matter because right then and there, I saw it, glowing like the treasure it was in all its radiance and glory: a beautiful and lovely and precious set of maroon hardcover encyclopedias. Call me a dork, a geek, a nerd, whatever you want, but it might have been one of the happiest moments of my effervescent childhood.
You see, even though I didn't know how to speak English too well at this point, let alone read, this set of encyclopedias, which I still own to this day, was to become my best friend for the many years to come. Oh, the memories...
So! what does this have anything to do with flowers?
My favorite number is 6. Why? Because my lunar birthday is December 6, and December is the 12th month, which is twice 6. There are 6 people in my family, and 6 is a very easy number to write. Also, I love that thrice 6 is the devil's number (don't ask me why - I'm just weird like that). Finally, I love flowers. And flowers start with the letter F, the 6th letter of the alphabet...
I didn't have any toys growing up, so bear with me. This is what I did for fun. Think about why certain numbers appealed to me...
So anyway, the F encyclopedia taught me all there was to know about flowers...and flies, and frames, and fission, and fusion, and fainting, and framing, and fables, and yeah...
Wow, there is absolutely no point to this story, except that the pictures of flowers in the encyclopedia were fucking AWESOME. It showed me the anatomy of a flower, the different kinds of families of flowers and the different types of seeds there were. THEN, it went on to show me that every state has its own "state flower" so to speak, and OH, it was so wonderful you guys!!!!! Yeah. I'm such a girl. Stfu.
I'm sorry to my only two listeners out there for wasting your time. Lol. <3
So um, yeah. Please enjoy the following excerpt taken from one of my favorite books, The Alchemist.
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The Alchemist picked up a book that someone in the caravan had brought. Leafing through the pages, he found a story about Narcissus.
The alchemist knew the legend of Narcissus, a youth who knelt daily beside a lake to contemplate his own beauty. He was so fascinated by himself that, one morning, he fell into the lake and drowned. At the spot where he fell, a flower was born, which was called the narcissus.
But this was not how the author of the book ended the story.
He said that when Narcissus died, the goddesses of the forest appeared and found the lake, which had been fresh water, transformed into a lake of salty tears.
"Why do you weep?" the goddesses asked.
"I weep for Narcissus," the lake replied.
"Ah, it is no surprise that you weep for Narcissus," they said, "for though we always pursued him in the forest, you alone could contemplate his beauty close at hand."
"But...was Narcissus beautiful?" the lake asked.
"Who better than you to know that?" the goddesses said in wonder. "After all, it was by your banks that he knelt each day to contemplate himself!"
The lake was silent for some time. Finally it said:
"I weep for Narcissus, but I never noticed that Narcissus was beautiful. I weep because, each time he knelt beside my banks, I could see, in the depths of his eyes, my own beauty reflected."
"What a lovely story," the alchemist thought.
