“The meaning of life is the journey and not really in any one thing or an outcome or a result. I think it’s the process, and I think that if you can find happiness in the process, then maybe that’s it.”

– Charisma Carpenter, actress

I’m typically not one to quote Hollywood actresses, but this quote was compelling to me on a couple of levels. First, the meaning of life is the journey. Second, all of our lives are just a series of moments strung together to form the journey. And finally, finding happiness in those moments makes the journey rich and meaningful.

I’ve spent so much of my time lamenting the past or worrying about what’s going to happen in the future. If I truly believe that life is about the journey, shouldn’t I spend the current moment finding happiness right now, in that very moment? Why fret about the past if all I have is now? Why worry about a stormy future when there’s no way to know how the future will pan out, good or bad.

Many of us live in the past, stuck on regrets or even successes that have long since passed. I’m guilty of living for the future. I set out big plans and big goals, and I invest money into the future in hopes of reaping big returns. It’s easy to say to ourselves that all we need is that big house on the hill, that new car, more money – whatever it is we’ve set out there that will certainly make us happy. But saying that sets up conditions for our happiness, and conditional happiness is fleeting.

We’re forever trading in the moments we have now for the illusive bit of happiness just beyond the horizon – always tempting, always fleeting. That’s not to say we shouldn’t learn from our past to inform our future, but often we’re trading away our happiness in worry and regrets.

If you’re one of the lucky ones, you appreciate every moment. You’re grateful to be at work, doing what you love with the people you love to be with. For many of us, becoming a florist was our choice to live in the now, to do what we love and to work with something we deeply cherish. We also discovered that flowers connect us as humans to our emotions and help us and our clients heal, celebrate and cherish each of the moments of our amazing lives.

Being florists connects us to the now with a perishable product that gives its beauty only in the moment and then is gone forever. But that fleeting glimpse of beauty heals us, connects us and brings beauty to each moment in a string of moments that become our lives.

Take this moment to accept and share your gratitude for this very moment and count your lucky stars for having chosen this amazing career. You are the ones that help us cherish and celebrate each moment of this wonderful life.