Generosity

    Have we forgotten how to see others? Does our modern day culture remember how to set ourselves aside in order to esteem the value in others. Do we know how to “give expecting nothing in return” (Luke 6:35), to “regard others as more important than ourselves”(Phil 2:3)?

    In this project I hoped to invite my peers with me as we practiced generosity in truly considering others, seeing them and demonstrating our appreciation.

 The Process: I prepared for this experience by going around campus and collecting flowers that specifically correlated to aspects of the character of someone that I cared about. I found their meanings by researching how they were interpreted according to the Victorian Era’s Flower language. In 1800’s to early 1900’s flowers worked as another form of communication. People sent and received flowers not just for their beauty but for the intrinsic meaning that came along with each one. I bouquet of flowers could convey a message or represent an another’s qualities. The flowers I chose to represent my sister were as follows:

1. Fleabane and horse-weed: during the Victorian era fleabane, as the name suggests was believed to repel fleas, and as such was associated with protection. They are hardy and resilient, yet gentle and often symbolize affection.
2. Bignonia: glory or magnificence, Grandeur and Beauty 
3. Trumpet vines: Fresh Start (beginning of autumn) 
4. California Fuchsia: Elegance and Grace (the favorite plant of Queen Victoria yet originating in the US and traveling to Europe in the18th century) 
5. Indian blanket: joy and happiness, resilience and leadership (thrives in difficult and even dry seasons, it is native to America and speaks of rich heritage. At its core is healing and life, its roots are capable of healing stomach aches) 
6. Hollyhock: one’s aspirations or dreams for the future. A couple fun facts about the hollyhock, is that it was named by an herbalist named William Turner. They were also used and sort of symbolize privacy, so in the Victorian era, if a woman had to go to the outhouse, she would ask “where do the hollyhocks grow” to find the outhouse because they would plant hollyhocks for privacy.
7. Mexican Sunflower: Loyalty 
8. Blue plumbago: comes from the Latin word “plumbum” which means to leas and algere which is “alike or to resemble” this might be due to the fact that the sap tends to stain the skin or Pliny the elderly thought that the plant could cure lead poisoning. 
9. Rosemary:stands for remembered
10. Mexican marigolds: grief, despair, and mourning 

The Objective: 

    My hope was to invite others in the act of considering others; either what we value about them, or acknowledging the obstacles they have overcome, or celebrating their victories, all through the bouquets we created. Acknowledging these things about others are critical for truly loving the people around us. 

Gift giving purely for the purpose of blessing other people is something that I wish was a bigger part of our culture, not just on birthdays and Christmas. If the act of pondering the beautiful characteristics of others and blessing them is only practiced on two days of the year, then we will most certainly be a people sorely out of practice in valuing others.