Such a Simple Remedy.....

This is just one of the 6 vases of beautifully scented lilacs my son and I picked today. My favorite fragrance in the world, EVER, these flowering plants don't last nearly as long as I would like them. Does anyone remember picking a single flowering shoot and sucking out the sweet pollen hidden inside when you were a kid?

Not only do these flowers brighten my day in every 'scents' for 3 weeks a year, but they hold a very special significance. When my Dad was alive, he always took walks and picked them to place throughout his home for as long as I can remember. When he was ill and held up at either the hospital or nursing home at the end of his life, we desperately tried to get permission for him to have them in his room, but rules were rules and we never received the okay. BUT, that never stopped me from sneaking them in(along with Smiths beef jerky which was strictly against his dietary regiment) and putting them in a plastic glass of water. The nurses only checked on him every few hours, so the smell wafted through his room long enough so that when they were removed(and they ultimately were every time I brought them in) the scent still lingered for some time after.

It was that time of year that I visited Dad almost every day solely because I knew that they were confiscated the same day. Why those nurses never put two and two together and noticed that whenever I came, the lilacs stayed I will never know.

I started writing this post with no moral intended but as I start thinking about those times that gave my father some solace, enjoyment and tranquility a moral arises.

Although his doctors strictly forbade him to eat certain things(such as the beef jerky previously mentioned) and enjoy simple pleasures, I made sure my cunning superseded professional criteria. Many of us take things for granted, especially the minute details of every day lives. The simple smell of your favorite flower, or scent, can be just as much of a remedy as any medicine. Like i wrote in an article for Deepak Chopra's website vivid.me, your body can do amazing things to heal itself. Not to go on and on like I did for vivid.e but when your sole and emotions feel good, you feel good. When your blood pressure is down and you are at peace with yourself, all sorts of good things happen with the cells in your body and all of it good.

As Dad was dying, I truly believe that his time with us was extended because he enjoyed the "illegal' jerky I snuck into him and the fragrance from the lilacs were instrumental in his quality of life while sick. That, my friends, is the motto. Do things that make yourself feel good and understand that those little things that we give no thought to and are not very high on any ones list of 'must haves' mean a great deal to others.