It was a warm, summer morning when the gentle breeze brushed against the ever-so-smooth skin of the various flower petals that clung to the tree branches spread across the orchid. Being aware of the fact that they must drop to the earth soon enough to complete their worldly journey, they did not resist too hard when the branches told them with utter sorrow that they would have to give way as they will not be able to hold onto them for much longer. When dropped, they touched the ground gently where a gentleman came, picked them up with utter care, and finally placed them in the big brown basket.
These beautiful flowers, in all their glory, were then sold to various vendors. Some got the opportunity to travel and worship various idols across many religious sites. Some were used in beautiful girdles that sat around the necks of the beautiful bride and groom on their wedding day. Some used these in vases to enhance the appearance of their houses. The list, indeed, is never-ending. In essence, the flowers saw it all. Throughout their worldly journey, they were shown utmost care, love, and admiration. They had grown rather fond of the attention they had been receiving but alas, there came a time when they started to wilt. For instance, the ever so rosy roses were not so rosy now. On the contrary, they were brown, with their petals falling off one by one. The owners of these once, rather majestic flowers considered throwing them away as they found neither use nor beauty in them any longer.
The flowers who had been eavesdropping on the conversations of their owners the entire while, were unbelievably upset upon hearing this. They felt that their worth was only and solely dependent on their appearance. As their appearance deteriorated, so did their worth in the eyes of the owners. Further, they were deeply upset by the fact that the humans cared so little about the environment that they were ready to add to the already humongous magnitude of flower waste that already existed when they very well could have been upcycled.
The flowers deliberated upon this and it seemed as though they had been enlightened since several ideas that could avoid their needless disposal struck them. They thought of having a sensible conversation with their slightly ignorant owners in the hope that they would be able to make them aware of the various ways their deteriorated selves could be upcycled at the comfort of their homes!
The owners of these flowers, after being approached by these wilting flowers for the exchange of dialogue or two, readily agreed to lend them a listening ear. The flowers, excited about the same, began to list down the various ways in which flower waste could be upcycled. Among these included converting dried flowers into mesmerizing potpourri. Further, they could also be converted into homemade soap. This provides members of the family with a fun activity they can take part in and also, these soaps are very aesthetically as well as organic. Yet another fun way of upcycling flower waste is making DIY flower candles at home. This will help enhance the appearance of otherwise boring seeming wax candles
. Furthermore, home walls can be redecorated with floral art by arranging dried flowers in various patterns/designs and when the piece of art is completed it can be framed and hung on walls throughout the house to enhance the beauty of the same at a low cost. The flowers told them that, thus, there are many ways in which flower waste can be upcycled.
The owners deliberated upon this and it all made sense to them. They apologized to the flowers for having been so reckless all these years and promised to upcycle flower waste and also spread the word about the same.
Thus, the owners of these flowers upcycled them to help the environment and also ensured that everyone in their friend's circle did so too. The flowers were elated about being told this as they knew that they would still be valued and be put to good use even when they did not appear to be as beautiful as they once did from the outside. Since this would also help the environment by reducing flower waste, the earth too felt delighted and it rained as if it were shedding its tears of joy. All in all, the acceptance of such an idea benefited everyone and it definitely put a smile on everyone’s faces and brought joy all around.