Dead Dandelions

I must confess, I have a bit of an obsession with dead dandelions.

I believe this began with the watching of "Wild Hearts Can't be Broken" when I was young. If I remember correctly, and it is very possible that I do not, when Dr. W.F. Carver dies, the camera is not focused on him, but instead on a dead dandelion blowing away in the wind.

This sent my young mind spinning.

I had heard, as any red-blooded American who has ever seen a christmas movie, that every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings. Or that when you step on a crack, it will break your mother's back. Or that it brings bad luck to walk under a ladder.

I was quite familiar with these superstitions, and I found myself creating my own:

         Every time a dead dandelion is blown out, someone loses their life.

Ok, so maybe it is a bit on the morbid side, but I don't like to focus on that. How I like to see it is that, well, death is a part of life. People are dying every day. When it's your time to go, it's your time, and there really isn't anything to be done. But what gets me about the dandelion connection is that maybe everything works together in ways of which we are unaware. Maybe our blowing-out of dead dandelions is perfectly timed by a greater, supreme being.

I know, I know. It's a bit of a stretch to suppose that something as simple as the picking of a dead weed has greater eternal meaning, but it makes me think how even our smallest choices can have eternal consequences, and how our decisions not only affect ourselves, but those around us. Each time I see a dandelion blowing in the wind I can't help but be reminded to watch what I am doing, and make sure to remember I am not the only person I have to keep in mind.

It's a lot to get from a superstition I made up myself, but it has stuck with me.

So, a few weeks ago I was led, via Kristi and her amazing blog, to this particular Etsy shop where I found the perfect decal for my computer.

This decal is doing a number of good things for me. Namely, I am now reminded to think of my consequences each time I look at my computer. I must also spend more time in the library simply so people can admire my MacBook.