What We Missed

Presently there is a bouquet of red roses sitting on my kitchen counter, blooming fresh and beautiful despite the dreary rain outside. Almost like these flowers are defiantly holding on to Spring, even though the world outside is rapidly moving towards Autumn.
I admire their beauty while I can, because I know that they won't last for long. In a few days, they will probably start to wilt. But they're still beautiful while they're alive.

In a lot of ways, life is like that rose. It's a vapor. It blooms, it's beautiful, and then it wilts and dies. But life is still beautiful. Isn't it?

What if I tried to make that rose live as long as possible. I bought a solar lamp or something and a greenhouse environment to make it grow. I made sure it was in the peak of health for a rose. Not only that, but I made sure that it was productive. The seeds were germinated and planted in perfect, fertile soil.

Then the rose could wilt eventually with the full knowledge that it lived a healthy, productive life. We could bury it in the backyard where it can decompose in peace. We could even say a few words about how this rose served its purpose well in life.

But did it?
If we never once stopped to admire the rose while it bloomed, did the rose really serve its purpose?
Does your life really serve a purpose?
Or are you trying to live the healthiest, most productive life you can, and never once stopping to enjoy the little things that make life beautiful?
This is not me entreating you to give up on exercise, a career or an education. This is just me asking you to stop and smell the roses every once and a while.