A young man walked down a busy street in the small college town in northwestern United States.
Clutching a single daisy he studied the faces of the people he meet on the street. He spotted a young woman who looks worried. He said, “Hi. You deserve a flower today,” handing the young woman the daisy and a note. He moves on another block. He takes another flower from his back pack and searches for another person who needs a bright spot in their day.
Montana State University fine art student Nathan Ira, 23, gifts a flower to Barb Holliday as she walks down Main Street in downtown Bozeman ON Wednesday. For the last two weeks, Ira has been giving flowers to random people throughout the community as a way to brighten the day of a complete stranger. / AP Photo/Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Mike Greener
His name is Nathan Ira. He is a 23 year old artist and student at Montana State University and works as a cook at a local restaurant to make ends meet. He is passionate about his art and about caring for others. He believes that, “Everyone is dealing with something.” So his random acts of gifting flowers to strangers is his way of reaching out in support.
A hand written note reading “For whatever you are dealing with, you deserve this,” accompanies every flower. On the back Ira includes his blog address, www.youdeserveaflower.blogspot.com. Some of the recipients of the flowers have posted their side of the story. One young woman wrote in part, “I’ve never received a flower and it really made me happy. I was up until like 2:30 am studying for an immunology exam and that flower gave me encouragement.” Another student from Turkey reported how comforting the flower he got on his way to take his first test in the United States was. Another describes how she worked the note into the center of an art project.
Ira is hoping the practice of giving flowers to strangers catches on. He includes directions for people who would like to adopt the random acts for themselves on his blog. He emphasizes the need to a lone and walking to avoid being a threat to anyone. He Encourages people to hand write the note and only carry one flower in hand to reinforce the idea that it is meant for one special person. In addition, he is seeking donation to spread the joy.
In a world that can be negative and impersonal, Ira is making a difference one flower and one person at a time. Perhaps before long people all over the world will be gifting a flower to strangers as a symbol of caring and support. The world needs more random acts like this.
