Sam's Rose

The other day I was going to work and saw two roses in our home garden. I remembered that quote, "The beauty of life is in each small moments, Stop and Smell the Roses". I also remembered I was later for work so I walked further faster. While I was coming back, there were few kids on the street bursting crackers, some coming back from tuition and such. J saw my sister talking with this 6 year old neighbour girl and I saw my sister offer those two roses, "Pick anyone among these two, one for you, and one for me" she said. Normally, I would not interact with kids, doesn't mean I hate kids, I usually avoid, because they're like these unskippable youtube ads, always high on energy and such. But I was curious, so I stood there at from distance, locked my phone and paid attention. She was happy that she got the rose and she was smiling, giggling and dancing, saying Thanks Akka and all that, and she picked the big one among two, leaving the half bloomed rose on my sister's hand. My sister got the small unbosomed rose and as she was about to place that rose on her hair, that little girl's mother intervened and said, "Sam, pick the small one". I kind of understood Interstellar, but I couldn't understand the mother's reasoning for picking small rose. I thought, picking a rose is like picking a smartphone, some like it big and latest, while some prefer minimal. But it was something more. The little girl was puzzled because she didn't understand the math behind her logic either. She kind of argued with her mother that she want the big rose, her mother went on to explain her. "The big rose is already fully bloomed and you can wear it on your head for one day, or it would last only half day if it's too sunny. But if you pick the small one, and place it in the glass with water, it'll bloom a little tomorrow and you can wear it for almost two days, you can wear that rose to your uncle's wedding too, which is two days from now. My brain couldn't fathom all that intelligence behind a simple choice of picking one rose when two roses are offered. The little girl nodded saying she understood what her mother said, but I doubt that. And then the little girl chose the small rose and she became happy for two days wearing that rose and she was bright and smiling on her uncle's marriage group photo. Two days later, that little girl Sam brought sweets to our home from her uncle's wedding and she offered it to me, I couldn't see her as I was busy calculating Income Tax deductions and other usual stuff. She said, "Uncle, take these sweets, I am very busy". I snapped back to reality and got sweet from her and said thanks to her. She happily smiled and while she was walking away I saw that rose on her head. It made me think, there were two ways to look into this. Sam is a little girl, she's living in the present, and as that line from kannada movie Nodi Swamy Naavirodu Heege goes, "Indu Enu Beku, Adara Chinte Saaku". She was all about having that pani puri today, if her stomach is upset because of that tomorrow, that's tomorrow's Sam's problem, not today's Sam's problem. While the mother had past experience, present data and future planning. So, she planned well and picked the small rose, a different choice that would give maximum benefits on her decision. One cannot always live in the past, it was beautiful or horrible, we cannot go back. Also, when we start living in the present, the present becomes the past and the future we waited for is already here as present. To conclude, there are more than one way to look at a problem, some think in the present and while some plan for the future. Either way, by the end of day, Sam had a rose and smile on her face and we should too, because life is all about those precious little moments, if we keep rushing, we wouldn't be able to stop and smell those roses.