聞不到的花香

Everyone says the flowers smell good but I dont smell anything； nothing. Do you smell them？” she asks， in her heavily accented voice. After walking around a busy street looking to do a random act of kindness， I had stumbled into this flower shop.

A little startled by the flower ladys question， I tell her that the flowers smell amazing and perhaps she should take a break once in a while so she can enjoy them too. Before I realize， I find myself in the midst of a conversation about her life—she got laid off from United Airlines a few years back， took the unemployment money and traveled the world for a year. Then， she ran out of money and came back to work at the flower shop.

We talk about all sorts of things as I try to decide on the flowers. I pick up and smell some Gerbera daisies. Im amazed at how beautiful and perfect they are.

I take them over to the register and chat some more. The lively Chinese lady carefully wraps them up in a sheet of clear plastic with a pink satin ribbon bow around it. I cant wait to pass these on. Im all set to leave when I realize that shes not quite finished with our conversation yet.

She jokes about how her daughter helps at soup kitchens and shes been a volunteer for the zoo for two years. “But if I ask her to sweep the floor， shes too tired，” she complains. Im amazed when she mentions that her daughter is only sixteen. “Shes wiser than most of us，” the lady says. I proclaim， “Your daughter will never be lonely or unhappy in her life because shes figured out how to give.” Im starting to get the feeling that shes secretly proud of her. She goes on， “I dont really know what my purpose in life is， I just do this work for a living.” I quickly chime in “I dont know what my purpose is either but there are some things that I know that are more‘right than others. And one of those things for me is service. It doesnt have to be big things. In fact， I think theyre usually small things； like being kind to others around you for example.” And then suddenly， she asks， “What do you do？” I tell her that I was also laid off from work too and took the unemployment money. And now Im a volunteer with a non-profit organization and do other “random” stuff. Shes amused. I cheerfully take out the Smile card from my pocket and tell her about the pay-it-forward concept. “Its really about the small things like these flowers for example—I plan on giving them to a random person who looks like they could use it. Perhaps an old couple sitting on a bench somewhere，” I smile realizing I have a lot of work to do.

Im almost out the door when she calls me back； pulls out a bunch of fresh flowers that look like lilies and asks， “Can you give these to someone nice also？”

Wow！ I cant believe she wants to be a part of this. As she wraps them beautifully into three separate bouquets， I am overjoyed.

I walk back onto the street armed with four beautiful bouquets. I keep walking until I see a middle-aged couple sitting at the bus station. The big guy in the leather jacket is on the cell phone with his arm around his wife or maybe girlfriend， with spiky orange hair. Instantly， I know shes the first candidate. I walk up to her and hand her the gerberas， “You look like you would appreciate these flowers，” I smile. The guy immediately gets off the phone， “God bless you！” The lady is all smiles.

Less than 100 feet away I spot a small， old lady sitting quietly on the passenger-side of an RV/Trailer by the gas station. She smiles at me and Im taken back a bit and look down. She has one of the most genuine smiles I have ever seen； it seems to instantly light up the entire street. When I reach the RV， I signal her to open the window. She eagerly opens it， “Can I give you some flowers？” I smile. As her small frail hands gently take the bouquet from mine， her smile widens even more and now Im close enough to see the twinkle in her eyes.

Feeling like Santa Claus， I march onwards. I see this short grey-haired lady from the back， walking with her head half-way down； after passing her once， I decide that she is “it” and take a u-turn to walk back two blocks. “These are for you，” I hold them out with both hands and a huge smile. “Theyre beauty-ful. Wow！” Her face lights up. I walk off quickly in my usual style. I hear a surprised “Thank You” in the background.

I cant believe Im already down to the last one. I spot a young lady. Judging from her backpack and clothing shes probably in her early twenties， and is averagelooking. She looks like a typical college kid lost in her thoughts. Theres something about her that reminds me how hard it is sometimes to be that age. Just as I pass her， I decide to hand over the lilies to her； her face just blossoms. She turns from average looking to amazing； it feels just right.

Walking back， I feel so full； so full of love. Astonished that such small acts can bring so much joy to someones life； grateful that all it takes is the right intentions and the whole universe by your side； hopeful that someone at a random flower shop can open up her heart to give beautifully wrapped flowers， free of charge， for three random people shell never meet.

人人都說這些花香氣撲鼻，但我啥也沒有聞到，一點也沒。你聞得到嗎？”她問道，帶著濃濃的口音。我沿著一條繁忙的大街轉(zhuǎn)悠，想著去隨心做件善事，然后無意中走進了這家花店。

聽到花店女士的問題，我心中稍稍一驚；我跟她說，這些花兒聞起來香極了，或許她應(yīng)該偶爾停下來，那樣她就也可以感受它們的芬芳了。很快，我就與她聊起了一些關(guān)于她的事情——幾年前，她從聯(lián)合航空公司下崗后，便拿著失業(yè)津貼作了一年環(huán)球旅行。后來，她的錢花光了，就回國找了份在花店的工作。

在我挑選花的時候，我們聊了各種各樣的事。我拿起一些非洲菊聞了聞。多么漂亮完美的花朵啊，令人為之贊嘆。

我拿著這些花走到收銀臺，又聊了一會兒。這位可愛的華人女士小心翼翼地用一張透明的塑料紙把花包好，然后用一根粉紅色的緞帶扎住。我恨不得這就將它們送出去。我正準(zhǔn)備離開的時候，發(fā)現(xiàn)花店女士還沒聊完我們的話題呢。

她打趣地說，她女兒在慈善食堂當(dāng)助手，而且她還在動物園當(dāng)了兩年志愿者。她抱怨道：“但要是我讓她打掃一下地板，她就累得做不來了?！碑?dāng)她提到她女兒只有16歲時，我吃了一驚?！八任覀兇蠖鄶?shù)人都聰明，”那位女士說道。我斷言道：“你女兒的人生路上絕不會感到孤單和悲傷，因為她懂得施與?！蔽议_始感受到她暗暗為自己的女兒自豪。她繼續(xù)道：“我對自己的人生目標(biāo)不太清楚，我做這份工作只為謀生?！蔽壹泵Ω胶偷溃骸拔乙膊磺宄约旱娜松繕?biāo)，但我知道有些事情比其他事情要來得‘正確。對我而言，其中一樣這種事情是服務(wù)他人。那不一定得是驚天動地的事。事實上，我認(rèn)為這些事應(yīng)該是細(xì)微的事情；打比方說，對你身邊的人表示友好?！苯又蝗粏栁遥骸澳闶歉墒裁垂ぷ鞯哪?？”我跟她說我也下崗了，也拿著失業(yè)津貼?，F(xiàn)在我是一個非盈利組織的志愿者，并且做著其他一些“閑”事。她被逗樂了。我歡天喜地地從口袋里掏出笑臉卡，并且跟她說起關(guān)于“將愛傳遞”的理念?！斑@真的只是些細(xì)微的事情，例如這些花——我打算將它們隨意送給任何一個看上去會好好利用它們的人。有可能是坐在某個地方的長椅上的老夫妻吧?！蔽倚α诵?，意識到自己有不少事要做。

在我就要走出門口的時候，她將我喊了回去；她抽出一束像是百合的鮮花，問道：“你能將這些花也送給某個不錯的人嗎？”

哇！我真不敢相信她也想?yún)⑴c這種活動。她將這些花分成三束，然后包得漂漂亮亮的，我欣喜若狂。

我懷抱四束漂亮的鮮花回到街上。我一直往前走，直到眼前出現(xiàn)一對中年夫婦坐在汽車站旁。那個穿著皮衣的“大塊頭”正用手機打著電話，臂里挽著他的妻子或是女友，頂著一個橙色的“刺猬頭”。我立刻意識到她會是第一個“幸運兒”。我徑直走向她，把非洲菊遞給她?！澳愕臉幼涌瓷先プ屓擞X得你會珍惜這些花?！蔽倚χf。那男子立刻中斷電話，說道：“上帝保佑你！”那女子露出滿臉笑容。

在不到一百尺的地方，我看到一個瘦小的老嫗安靜地坐在加油站旁的一輛旅行拖車的乘客座上。她向我微笑，我有點詫異，一時不敢直視。她擁有我見過的最誠摯的笑容；這笑容似乎一下子就燃亮了整條街道。當(dāng)我走到拖車旁邊，我示意她打開窗戶。她急忙打開窗?！拔夷芩托┗ńo您嗎？”我笑著說。她孱弱的手輕輕接過我的花，臉上的笑容更加燦爛了，走近了，我還看到她眼中閃耀的星點光芒。

我感覺自己如同圣誕老人一般，繼續(xù)向前走著。我看到一個留著一頭灰色短發(fā)的女子的背影，半低著頭往前走。我曾從她身旁走過，后來我覺得她應(yīng)該是“那一位”，于是我轉(zhuǎn)身往回走了兩個街區(qū)。“這些花是給你的?！蔽野鸦ㄓ秒p手遞給她，并向她投以一個大大的笑容?！斑@花真漂亮。哇！”她的臉容光煥發(fā)。我像往常一樣迅速走開了。我聽到背后傳來一聲帶著驚訝的“謝謝”。

真不敢相信我已經(jīng)到了尋找最后一個“幸運兒”的時候了。我看到一個年輕女子。從她的背包和衣著來看，她大概二十出頭，相貌平平。她看起來像個典型的大學(xué)生，埋在自己的思緒當(dāng)中。她的一些特質(zhì)讓我記起有時候那個年齡是多么的苦惱。就在我從她身邊走過的時候，我決定把那些百合花送給她；她的臉立時如花綻放。她從相貌平平變得賞心悅目了——那感覺就對了。

往回走的時候，我感到一心的滿足，愛意滿滿。我很驚訝，這些小小舉動便能為一些人的生活帶來那么多的歡樂；我很感激，因為快樂只需正面的動機，整個世界便為之感染；我滿懷希望，因為即使是隨便一家花店的店員也能打開心扉，將包得漂漂亮亮的花束分文不取地送給任意三個她素未謀面的人。