Actually, the sign in front of the church said stop and smell our roses. I did and they were some wonderfully fragrant ones. But what does stop and smell the roses mean…besides literally that is? This phrase was about mindfulness before mindfulness became a new part of our vernaculars. Stop and smell the roses (why roses by the way?) means to consciously direct your mind to take in, experience and enjoy the present world that is around you. We may joke about “Oh that was a waste of time that I will never get back!” but that really is true. Once the time has passed, it is gone.
We can’t always take, or even have, enough time with the way modern life is but when we can we should. The laundry can be done later but watching a sunset that will never happen again with a loved one cannot be put off till later. That may be a bit of a weak analogy but I hope you see my point.
So take the time to “stop and smell the roses” as often as possible; it really is good for you.
Teri 🌹
Images by T.Dashfield Photography 