Any of my friends or family who have known me for more than a month at most can tell you that some of the things I love most in this world are flowers and trees.

As a little girl, I made arrangements out of anything I could find in the woods. I'd make bouquets of the Forget-Me-Nots and spider lilies outside my grandmother's house and bring them inside for her. I'd steal outside with my dinner packed in Ziplocs only so I could have my dinner perched in my favorite maple tree. Even now, I keep my dorm room littered with various vases of flowers at any given time and I'll meditate in the woods at any opportunity.

My love for flora goes deeper than just the fact that it's beautiful. I believe inherently that flowers and trees are essential to our humanity, just as food, water, and sleep are. I choose to surround myself with roses and daisies and lilies as constant reminders that I live in a world infinitely bigger and grander than myself. I gift those I love with bouquets as an assurance that I love them enough to present them a piece of Earth. I even have a tattoo of my favorite flower, a daisy, behind my right ear to remind me to keep pushing myself out into this world to bring a little bit of peace to those I meet every day. I recycle at every opportunity because this Earth is not something we can keep forever.

Flowers are dear to me because their impact is palpable. I've seen smiles, laughter, and even tears from those I've given flowers to. I've been brought out of the deepest grief in part due to the Earth around me. Some of the most important events in my life have been marked by flowers. Ask any bride what flowers she carried in her wedding and my bet is she'll be able to tell you. I will forever remember picking tiny wild daisies in Amsterdam fields. I will forever remember the first flower my boyfriend ever gave me (a white carnation). I will forever remember the feeling of purchasing over one hundred stems to give out to people as an act of benevolence. I encourage you to connect to your environment. Stop and smell the next flower you see. Perhaps pluck it to give to someone you care for.

Take a moment to send gratefulness to the trees for all they do for you. I promise, you will hear something back.