Why You Should Wake Up and Smell the Roses...Literally.

I fucking love flowers. Everyone close to me knows that. My personal favorites are lilies but that's beside the point…unless you want to buy me flowers (my contact info is below). 

Some people say that buying flowers is a waste because they cost money and die. I agree - flowers aren't something you buy all the time. Case in point, I'm still paying off students loans, living on my own, and attempting to eat something other than protein bars for sustaining a healthy lifestyle. If you're like me, flowers would probably be the last thing on a list of priorities like bills, alcohol (c'mon who am I kidding), and...protein bars. 

But to hell with these mouth breathers! You'd be surprised at how much a bouquet can do to induce positive emotional responses. Yes, there are other things out there other than food, cat videos and sex that can actually add some pep to your step. 

In 2005, a study conducted at Rutgers University showed the affects flowers have on one's emotions and long term moods. The study suggested that people are more attractive and approachable when they are in good spirits (however, there were no known treatments for resting bitch face..hmm).

Clearly, I'm not here to discuss the entirety of the 20+ page study because ain't nobody have time for that in this tech heavy goldfish-effect day and age. BUT that's why summaries are so amazing…let me enable your short attention span. Stay with me.

Researchers conducted studies on three groups: females only, both men and women, and senior citizens. The studies were conducted in different environments, across different age groups and demographics. Each group was introduced to and interacted with floral stimuli.

One study even observed the Duchenne smile of those receiving stimuli including bouquets, fruit baskets and candles, noticing that 100% of participants who received flowers “responded with the Duchenne smile indicating happiness” and "reported an increase in positive emotion." 

In all three studies, experimenters recorded positive socio-emotional responses from the participants when flowers were present. Now this may not be saying much but look, even dudes get happy at the sight of Gerber daisies.  

So where am I going with this?

I'm not usually one to show great enthusiasm for DIY projects but when I saw a cool project using old wine bottles as vases, I wanted to give it a try. I didn't get far. At all. I was this close to lighting my whole kitchen on fire before I threw in the towel. 

I went out and bought some flowers and putting my pride aside, I arranged one simple daisy in an old champagne bottle and stared at it for a good minute. 

"Hmm...this is kind of nice." I found another champagne bottle lying around my kitchen and used that one as well (side note: I obviously love champagne too). I placed one of the bottles in my kitchen window and the other by my bedroom window. It wasn't an overly lavish arrangement but it looked nice enough to add some oomf to my place. 

I placed the rest of the daisies in a normal vase and noticed how pretty everything was. The fact that it was raining that day also managed to make it seem like they brightened up the gloomy scenery from outside. Holy shit, I just made my own sunshine!

That week while getting ready for work, I’d notice the flowers on the windowsill and smile at the pretty arrangement. I don’t even like speaking before 8am and look at how I was treating these delicate creatures. I was feeling THAT good. Granted, not every day was a walk in the park but coming home to little reminders of nature’s beauty was something that put my stressful mind at ease, even if for only a moment.  

If you have anywhere between $12-20 that would normally go towards a few glasses of wine, then you can definitely add some sunshine to your place with a few flowers here and there. Or just steal them from the neighbors garden for free.

Like the study mentioned, happiness is attractive. Who knows, someone might find your glowing good spirits something to smile at and possibly approach for a glass of wine or two.

Thank the florist.

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