Have you ever taken the time to stop and smell the roses? I do, as often as possible.

While I did just that today, I was thinking about where the phrase or quote came from and I discovered a few things. One was that it was a song written by John Lennon and given to Ringo Starr to record and being that the Beatles are my ALL TIME FAVORITE band, how stoked was I?

Another was that no one is positive where the quote originated from, but it seems to date back 100 years. Another “One reference suggests that ‘stop and smell the roses’ was used in conversation between friends, one of whom had a beautiful rose garden. The friend worked so diligently in the rose garden that she did not take the time to enjoy her work. Her friend gently reminded her to stop working and experience the beauty she had created.” (From the link below.)

So, the way we use it in every day life is the way it was referenced in the story above, meaning that you have to slow down and take a moment to enjoy what’s around you, experience life, don’t miss out on things because you were too busy…take a moment to stop and smell the roses.

As I mentioned I try to do that as often as possible. Roses are in my top 4 flowers that I absolutely love, sunflowers, daisies, gerber daisies and roses. I love to see a field of sunflowers and I will stop to smell and admire them, they make me happy and whenever I see a rosebush, I have to stop and smell and admire at least one, there is nothing quite like it. I was inspired for my post today by a wild white rose bush on my walk home today! I stated to think about where the quote comes from.

And then it reminded me of a very good friend, JASC (if I just listed his initials JC, he might be confused with someone else and I have always loved using his full name, it’s a great one!). JASC and I have been friends since kindergarten! Can you believe it? How many people can we say that about?

The reason I bring up a random person in my post is that he has a rose tattoo on his arm and when I asked him about it he said that there was a time that he was working so much his daughter stopped him one day and told him to stop and smell the roses and the tattoo is his reminder to do just that. Can you think of a better tribute?

So, I say to you, my friends, take the time to stop and smell the roses, at least once…you never know how it will make you feel.

http://voices.yahoo.com/popular-phrases-origin-meaning-stop-smell-468395.html?cat=37