Yellow OrchidI love flowers! Flowers make me happy, especially brightly coloured ones. I enjoy going to gardens while on holiday, especially in the spring and summer when all the flowers are in full bloom. There is just something about looking at flowers that relaxes me and lifts my spirits. I walk away with a smile on my face always.
As I walked past a florist earlier, I started thinking about flowers as a universal way of expressing our happy feelings: love, friendship, celebration of a significant event, cheering someone up, ... when we want to show someone we care, we give flowers. No wonder there are so many books and articles written on the meanings of different flowers (roses, chrysanthemums, carnations, etc) and their meanings. Flowers must be a language all of their own.
I don't speak the language of flowers, unfortunately. I'm just happy to look at them, and maybe on a rare occasion receive some. At least I know that when I visit someone from another culture, I can bring them some flowers. However, before you get too excited about this simple gift, first find out from a local if there are any flowers that are taboo or used for certain purposes (e.g. as an offering to their gods) or colours that are taboo in that culture (e.g. white flowers are used for funerals). Maybe there's a whole lot more to this universal language than we know!
Whatever the case, it is best to be student of another culture before we plunge headlong and realise that we're the fools for not asking questions first.
Go cross-cultural today and enrich your life!
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