The Powers of Flowers: Stress, Image, and Brain Improvements

Flowers are drawn with nature's artistic hand across a landscape canvas. With bright colors flowers offer something more than a beautiful landscape but a tantalizing feast for our eyes and food for our soul. There is something inherent in flowers that brighten our day and help us think about how beautiful the wild can really be.

Flowers are a powerful representation of emotion and beauty. They are so powerful that those who hold onto a bunch of flowers seem to have a positive aura about them. Consider a study of male and female hitchhikers holding onto flowers. Men holding flowers got a ride by both sexes more than either women with or without flowers (Gueguen, Meineri & Stefan, 2012).

Flowers seem to make us more approachable and provide a trait of aesthetic appreciation. Those that can find beauty in this world seem to carry with them traits that include empathy, kindness, and sensitivity. There is no doubt why artists, poets, and painters love flowers.

It is also beneficial to consider the stress and brain enhancements that come with flowers. According to research people who take a stroll in nature have higher brain functioning and lower levels of stress (As cited in Green, 2011). The same applies to those who look at pictures of flowers and destress from all of the days worries.

With all the benefits of flowers I am concerned that more people don't find them of interest. Putting a few pictures on your office or home wall will certainly allow for a more artistic feel to spruce up your environment while reducing stress levels. Go for a walk if you can or put some pictures of flowers on your office wall.

I engage in some hobby artistic photography and painting as one way to keep in touch with and study nature. The imagination this work entails offers cognitive flexibility and innovative creativity hard to find in other activities. If you are interested in purchasing a picture you may do so on the Creative Works page or you may buy related products like mugs or cell phone cases on Fine Art America.

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Gueguen, N. Meineri, Sebastien, Stefan, J. (2012).  "Say it with Flowers"...to Female Drivers: Hitchhikers Holding Flowers and Driver Behavior. North American Journal of Psychology, 14 (3).

Green, J. (2011). Research Shows Nature Helps With Stress. Dirt. Retrieved http://dirt.asla.org/2011/09/08/research-shows-nature-helps-with-stress/

Poem: The Course Bearing Ship

The Arrival of the Pilgrims in Cologne by Vittore Carpaccio

The Arrival of the Pilgrims in Cologne

The painting The Arrival of the Pilgrims in Cologne is the seventh painting in the series of Stories from the Legend of St. Ursula. In the painting, you can see one of the ships docked while the other ships of the retinue are still waiting in the bay. You can also see Ursula and Pope Cyriacus and leaning over the ship asking questions of the boatman. Armed guards and lots of activity make their appearance in this busy port.

The painter Vittore Carpaccio was born in Venice to a leather merchant. Not much is known about his life other than he painted a number of great works. The Legend of St. Ursula is one of his best works that depicts a story. Each painting marked a particular place and scene in the legend. These types of series paintings would require a number of years of study and research.

The paintings depict Ursula who was a 5^th century daughter of an English King. According to the legend, a Hun king asked for the hand of Ursula for his son Ethereus and threatened to invade England if the English king refused. The English king in his wisdom agreed but with a number of conditions which included 10 females to accompany the princess, three years of prayer for Ursula, and a thousand females for each of the 10 women accompanying the princess.

Ursula converted all of the ladies to her religion Christianity. She received a message from an angel that she and her new friends would become martyrs in Cologne. Apparently, the pope also received the same message from the angel and he too went with Ursula to support her. The suitor Ehereus amazingly also received the message and went to Cologne to join the party.

Once in Cologne the Huns attempted to take advantage of the girls. Due to their new faith, the women resisted their advances. Apparently, Julius, a Hun leader, instructed to have all of her companions killed. This included Ethereus. Julius attempted to save her life but when she refused his marriage offer, he threw an arrow and hit her in the heart thereby martyring her. A new group called the Ursulines started in 1535 Italy to commemorate her beliefs.

Regardless of your particular religious leanings, you can appreciate the story as one interest and value. The series of paintings is a beautiful example of the Venice Renaissance and maintains a touch of humanism. There were a number of paintings by other artists of this event. You may read about the artists and the legend below. 

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