I had nothing to do, so I went outside. I buzzed around my yard some but then stopped at the sight of the most beautiful flower I have ever seen.

What did it look like? The beautiful flower?

It was the palest pink. It was so pale and the color had faded so much that it had a dull, dead look to it. It looked downright pitiful.

But you said it was the most beautiful flower you�ve ever seen.

It is indeed.

It looked dead and you think it was beautiful?

Yes, yes I do. It was surrounded by bright, colorful, perky looking flowers.

Let me get this straight�out of all the bright, colorful, perky, LIVELY-looking flowers, you like the pale, dead-looking one?

Yes I do

I don�t get it, why that flower? Why the one that is typically described as sick looking?

Simple, it was me.
It was you.
It was us.
It was life.
It had a perfection to it.

You�re saying I look like I�m dead?????

NO, not at all. You see that flower was beautiful and left alone. It was least likely to be picked because it wasn�t the traditional beautiful. No, it had REAL beauty. It was living better than the others.

But the others looked perfect.

No, look closer. There is NO perfect flower. They all had a flaw. They�d wilt in a spot, drupe in the wrong places, had the bugs, had the thorns �they had many imperfections.

Then what about the one you liked?

It has been over shaded by the tradition pretty flowers. It doesn�t shine as bright. Its color isn�t the prettiest, yet it�s more alive. It isn�t wilting, isn�t drooping, didn�t have bugs, nor thorns �it was individualistic.

But how is it like us?

It was over shaded by what is considered traditionally beautiful. It was just as beautiful as the others, yet it was less noticed because it wasn�t fighting for the light. It wasn�t fighting for the glory.

huh?

If you aren�t traditionally pretty but you have a beautiful personality�then you begin to shine. You are beautiful. But if you were traditionally pretty from the start, you take that for granted. You try to over shadow others. You step on the others on your way up. You then are ugly.

Are you saying I�m ugly?

Not at all. I�m saying that traditional beauty really isn�t beautiful at all. That flower alone with stood the blow as the others fought their way up. It didn�t fret about getting sun because it knew that the others would eventually fight until they died and in the end, it would win. It didn�t have to be the most colorful to get attention. It was itself. It was unique in all it was. It was life.

what are you saying?

I�m saying I want to be like that flower.

you want to look dead?

Are you not listening at all?

I�m confused.

Ok, that flower did not have to fight a losing battle. It was itself and didn�t step on others. It wasn�t traditionally beautiful, yet it was the most beautiful thing I�ve ever seen. I don�t want to be traditionally beautiful. I want to be beautiful for me. I want to be seen more by my personality than by my appearance. I want my inward accomplishments to matter. I don�t want to be the flower on top fighting the others for all the glory. I don�t want to step on people to work my way up. I want to be me�I don�t want to be traditional.

That sounds like something an ugly person would say.

I�m not ugly�hell, some would call me pretty. I don�t want to be pretty JUST because I look it. I want to have inner beauty. I want people to see me for me and not for my glory�not for my tradition�not for my outward ness.

You�re saying you�d rather be a dull looking flower than a bright, colorful one?

Exactly. I want to be ME. I�m not in this for the show. I�m not in this for the glory. I�m not in it to be the most beautiful. I do not want to be �dull� either. That flower wasn�t dull�by being who it was, it was beautiful.

Did you pick any of the flowers?

Yes, I picked ones that are NOT traditionally pretty. I picked the ones that were truly beautiful.

So if I give you flowers, you want the ugly ones?

I would be honored to receive an ugly flower. If another person understood the symbolism behind it then I would be overjoyed.

What do you think it would mean if you received a dull flower?

It could mean several things. Symbolism is perceived differently by everyone. I would hope he was giving it to me because he was symbolizing INNER beauty and not focusing on out ward. I would hope he was doing it because he wanted me to see that he really liked me for me and not because of a pretty face. I would want it to symbolize life and love in reality�not the fictionalized tradition.

All flowers are beautiful. Beauty is usually only noticed if it is traditional. Traditional beauty is NOT really beautiful at all, it�s just �accepted�. Inward beauty means so much more. Yes, you can be a pretty face with a pretty personality�but put the emotions first. Put the inwardness before the outward ness.

If you want to give me something �beautiful��don�t give me the most traditionally pretty flower you can find. Give me one with REAL reason, REAL purpose, and REAL feelings. Give me REAL beauty, not the traditional.

We are flowers. YOU are a flower. I am a flower. Our life blooms and changes. It has it�s �bugs�. It has the people that over shadow and the people that waste their life striving for fake glory.

*I want to be the �non-traditional� looking one*

What about YOU? Do you want to be traditional or yourself?