"I'd rather have roses on my table, than diamonds on my neck." - Emma Goldman

One reason I love living in NYC are the flowers available 24/7! Yesterday, I picked up a bouquet of Pink Starlight Lillies for $10 and each time I look at them or smell them, my heart lifts. If you aren't living in an area that has an abundance of flowers for sale for cheap, plant some of your own. And as they grow, bend down and take in the fragrance. You are bound to feel better. Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best: "Earth laughs in flowers."

When I first moved here, I noticed the flower stands in front of the delis. Soon, it became a habit to buy a bouquet on each pay day. I no longer wait for them to be given to me. I buy them, cut the stems, and arrange them. And then I stare at them, snip them at the base of the flower when they are past their prime; let them float in a clear bowl of water. And even then, when I must dispose of them, consider drying them. I mourn the demise of my flowers.

But there is always another stand at the end of another block awaiting me.