To Kill a Flower

Is it wrong to pick a flower? No, do enjoy its beauty. Is it wrong to trample on it? Yes, that would hurt. Not the flower, to be sure, but yourself.

It is bad to ruin what is beautiful. Doesn’t it bother you to see something destroyed for no reason? A flower? A tree? A forest? There used to be a picturesque cliff in the landscape, but they mined it in the quest for minerals and now it is an ugly gaping hole; a wound in nature and in your soul. Doesn’t it hurt?

Ethics is not just what we directly do to people, to ourselves, to animals and sensitive beings; we can also injure nature. How? Environmentalists tell us: “The environment is the common possession of mankind.” They may be right, but that is not all there is to it. Holism, Stoicism, Buddhism and other religions explain it to us: “Everything is one.” They may have a point, but it’s not the whole story.

We don’t have to expand every little concern into global issues. Every small point must not be backed by grand principles. Sometimes a flower is just a flower; beautiful in itself.

The seed should be allowed to grow into a flowering beauty if there is no reason to tear it away. Why would you trample on it? Why tear it away before it has reached its full bloom? Why ruin anything if it’s not necessary?

Every small organism has its own purpose: to fulfill its inherent potential. It’s a pleasure to watch a harmonious process, so don’t take that joy away from yourself. And if you don’t have the time to enjoy it, at least make sure that you don’t step on it. Leave it for the next person to appreciate or just let it be there for itself. You don’t want to hurt yourself by destroying what works so delightfully well. Do yourself that favor.