'The Daisy'

By PASTOR BOB LONG- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

"The Daisy" is the title of a 1970s animated film by a Bulgarian artist. The film begins where many end -- with the credits. The names move up the screen to a background of soft music, flowing over a background of stick-figure flowers in a large garden.

A small man appears with a large pair of scissors. As the names continue to scroll to the background of peaceful music, the man begins to cut down the flowers with increasing vengeance and glee.

The harshness of the clicking of the scissor blades is dissonant with the soft music. It's not that this man is cutting the flowers to use them in any way; he is letting them lie where they fall.

When he has cut the last flower in view, he stops to congratulate himself. But while he is reveling in delight, a daisy pops up just a few feet away.

The man takes the scissors and cuts vigorously at the daisy's stem. But the daisy seizes the scissors. He wrestles with the daisy, but cannot retrieve his scissors. In face of his growing anger, the daisy simply and happily bobs back and forth in the gentle breeze.

Becoming more angry, the man goes off and returns with a saw in his hand. He begins to saw at the daisy's stem - but the teeth fall off the saw. Becoming angrier still, he hacks at the daisy with the saw.

The saw breaks. And the daisy? It just bobs back and forth in the gentle breeze.

The man leaves again, returning with a steamroller. He drives over the daisy, flattening it not once, but twice. He laughs derisively -- until the daisy pops straight up, and once again bobs gently back and forth.

The man runs off another time. This time, he returns with a shovel. The daisy watches with amusement as the man tries to dig it out by its roots. The daisy bends low to watch as the man disappears below the surface, still digging.

Unable to dig up the daisy, the man storms off once more. The daisy -- you guessed it -- continues to bob happily in the breeze.

Returning with a huge barrel on his shoulder, the man places explosives in the hole he has dug and lights the fuse. When the smoke clears following the explosion, the man is in a hospital bed, bandaged from head to foot and in traction -- and the daisy is still bobbing happily.

The final scene takes about 20 seconds of this five-minute film. A small girl comes walking along, singing with a joy that comes from a deep peace within her. She sees the daisy. She admires the daisy. She hugs the daisy.

She picks the daisy.

She and the daisy go off down the path: she singing once again, the daisy still bobbing in the gentle breeze, as she carries it with love.

May the gratitude which the source of life and love causes to well up within us be expressed at Thanksgiving time. But, more importantly, may deepest gratitude be the ingredient which causes us to move with songs of peace and joy within every aspect, relationship and event of every day of our lives.

(Pastor Long is co-president of the Interfaith Community of Schenectady.)[[In-content Ad]]