An artist entered a gallery in which a small sampling of her paintings had been put on display. As she admired the collection, she was reminded of the time and care each of the works of art required. To her surprise, as she walked past one of her more well-known, she noticed a slight movement. The artist looked over her shoulder to see if anyone else was there to verify this oddity but no one was around as it was mid-day. She looked above the painting to see if there was a disturbance in the lighting that had caused the appearance of motion. However, nothing was out of sort. As she moved closer, the painting grew in dimension and where there had been movement, there was now an inkling of sound. The artist checked once more in order to ward off claims of insanity. When she was assured it was clear, she leaned in.

“Just look at me.”, she hears.  The conversation seemed to be between two wildflowers set among many on a hillside descending and ultimately ending at a babbling brook.  “The other flowers aren’t full of gaps.  I’ve so little to offer.”  It was true.  The little flower only had a few remaining petals.  As she began to understand the dialogue, the artist’s heart sank.  “The whole purpose of a flower is to be beautiful.  I’ve ruined the scene.”, it continued.  The other flower was compassionate but couldn’t really offer any consolation.  Its missing petals went relatively unnoticed and it feared any effort at comfort would come off as trite and obligatory.

The artist remembered the little flower.  Her mind flashed back to the intention she’d given to each one of its petals and how she’d placed it with just enough space for it to be noticeable among the others.  She then expanded her memory to the surrounding flowers and how thoughtful she’d been with their placement and design.  With each memory, her joy grew more and more because as she stepped back, her eyes were drawn to the movement of the piece.  Petals swirled in the air, carried by an autumn wind and whisked past the tree set atop the hill on which they both resided.  And on the following hill, out of the flowers’ view, they eventually found their destination as they lay in a blanket of color – creating a natural aisle for a bride and groom.

The artist was brought to tears as she, again, realized the flower’s importance to the piece. It couldn’t understand its significance because of its perspective. But the reason people adored the painting was because they realized the little flower had given the most and that’s what made it beautiful.