stop to smell the roses
(idiomatic) To relax; to take time out of one's busy schedule to enjoy or appreciate the beauty of life.
Slow down. Stop and smell the roses now and then...

given a chance,i would do just anything to stop and smell them roses. i love roses.used to have them in my garden..and the first thing i would do the moment i got out from my car was to bring my fingers to the thorny twigs and let my cheek touch the soft scarlet petals and inhaled the sweet fragrance.

that was then..every rose has its thorns..just like every night has its dawn..the roses no longer beautify my porch. they just quit growing. and i was just too lazy to repot the new batches...only the orchids and cacti survived..

who needs flower,anyway..some people say they would only make you weak..their very existence - temporary beauty,promoting false hope, weak, fragile and wilting very easily under circumstances-would simply portray a meek image..so they say...

but, it all changes when i started to notice this set of flowers,,always congregating in harmony..moving gracefully with the flow of water beneath it..standing tall despite having this delicate stalk..

they are the waterlilies, or lotus; from the Nympheaceae family.

i started noticing the beauty of waterlilies when i first moved to perlis..it grows in abundance over here. They are aquatic plants found in lakes, ponds and the edges of streams; and perlis is a state which is blessed with wonderous wetlands.

and, from my limited observation and comprehension, this flower has long been associated with hinduism and buddhism..it was said that Buddhists regard the water lily as a symbol of enlightenment because of the beautiful bloom that emerges from the mud. They also consider the water lily a symbol of purity, spontaneous generation and divine birth. and waterlilies were colourfully lit and let afloat in the lakes by thousands of wishful ladies in hope of getting a charming future husbands in the Loy Krathong Festivals..(ciwei...correct me if im wrong..)

these beautiful waterlilies caught my eyes everytime i passed the Marhum Kayang Museum on my way to school..it opens up to greet the sun every morning and i was always wishing that i would have enough time to stop and capture those beautiful waterlilies...(i was always rushing to school..no time to stop by and smell the roses..err..lilies..and by the time i returned home, they had closed their flowers, all ready to welcome the night..)

and it was that morning in december during the school holidays that i decided to just grab my camera and went straight to the Museum and capture these beautiful waterlilies...

i actually spent 1 hour (considering i was alone,nobody was around, and the museum was not yet opened,and i had to park my car by the roadside and wade through the small stream to get to the lake) to capture them lilies...

looking through these pictures, i could easily relate to the fact that it represents the purity of heart and mind..

so, take some time...to actually stop and admire those flowers..