To The Woman That Mocked Me: A Letter

To The Woman Who Mocked Me Tonight,

You strutted along the sidewalk, talking to your son, who appears to be around 5 years old.

You pointed at me with a stubby finger & said loudly, “Look at that weird girl picking flowers. I wonder if she knows how stupid she looks?!”

If I had allowed myself to march over to you & tell you what I was thinking, this would have been what I said.

First of all, I. Heard. You. Loud & Clear. I could just label you a Mean Girl who is snobby, rude & pathetic. But I am sure you are merely just jealous & angry at the whole world, & haven't stopped to consider how pathetic you look, knocking everyone down, when just a quick glimpse at you told me that you are struggling to keep it all together yourself. I am sure you are hurting, but as someone who is also hurting beyond words, I can honestly tell you that is no excuse to treat others unkindly.

Secondly, congratulations on raising a son that will not know how to treat women (& people in general) graciously & kindly. He was listening to you...watching you... copying you. He will be just like you one day. He will mock what others do, if he finds it to be “stupid or weird”. He will not respect other ways of life. He will be an abuser, who feels it's his right to be unkind & vindictive. He will be the one to trample all over women & instead of learning to admire & love what they love, will run them down & force them to do what he wants to do, when he wants to do it, & how he wants to do it. He will be the one arguing with a police officer one day because he doesn't respect authority or rules. Perhaps he will even find himself in court or jail because he was not taught how to value others opinions & just be kind. Oh & lets not forget, he will also be the one who is constantly stressed out, in a fight with someone, & needs tons of medications & psychiatrists to help him sleep at night, because he can't get along with others. Yes, this is going to be all your fault, because children learn by example! Your son would have never even looked at me twice, if not for you pointing me out. The thought to say something mean would have never crossed that 5 year old's mind without you putting it there.

Thirdly, I should also congratulate you on making a fool of yourself. Those flowers I was picking, I was also photographing to share online. Online where I get notice from official tourism all over the world.... fancy magazines that only top notch photographers get featured in.... not to mention I am flooded daily with likes & comments, saying how beautiful my feed is & how talented of a photographer I am. People love how pretty, positive & uplifting my social media is. I am known for being an inspiring person. Hey, for all you know, you may be one of those people who have seen my Instagram feed & admired it! **laughs** Wouldn't that be a lovely ironic twist?!

And Lastly, instead of mocking me & saying cruel things, maybe you should take a lesson from me. Yes, perhaps it is odd to see a pretty girl in a long flowing skirt & long hair, picking wildflowers that most people would label weeds, along the side of a road. But it is definitely not “stupid”. In fact, it's very very wise & I will tell you why. My life has been very hard the past couple years. Health issues, financial troubles, broken relationships, battles with anxiety & depression... all of them good reasons to give up on life & turn into a bitter, mean, cynical person. However I have learned that if you only focus on all the bad things in life (& in people!), you will be miserable day in & day out.

So I chose instead to look for & appreciate beauty in the places & things most people never notice. I look at the skies every day & admire them, no matter what the weather... I stop & watch ants peeling back peony leaves or beetles hauling food crumbs back to their homes.... I revel in the sound of sparrows, happily preening in the sunshine... I go for walks & take deep breaths of the cool, evening air.... and yes, I do pick “weeds” & leaves & things other people label “nuisances”. I take photos of everything, even things that appear ugly at first. I admire the texture of tree bark & the delicacy of dandelion seeds. I still like to make a wish, blow them away, & watch as the sunset sparkles through the white fuzz. I bring wildflower bouquets home to put by where my mostly home bound Mom sits 80% of her days, to brighten up her corner. That's what I was doing tonight when you laughed at me & blurted out the first thought that crossed your mind.

I chose to literally take time to “stop & smell the roses” because life is short & when you realize you could be gone at any moment, what really matters becomes a lot clearer. Our world is such a busy, noisy, chaotic place, and I take comfort in simple things like Brown Eyed Susans & the feeling of dirt between my toes. Instead of using medications to calm my frayed nerves, I exam the petals of wild clover or pick up a birds feather to paste into my journal. Until you learn to appreciate the simple things in life, you cannot truly start to live.

And so, I won't allow what you said to stop me from picking more wildflowers along the side of the road. I won't even be hurt by what you said or angry at you for saying it. I just feel sorry for you & hope one day you will decide to start being kind & showing your son what it truly means to be a good person.

Sincerely,

The Girl with the Wildflowers ♥  

P.S. Here are a few of the photos I took that evening. Oh & guess what?! They were extremely popular.