buying beauty

A few weeks back, me and some friends had the chance to explore around UST (our old university). Dangwa or the famed Manila Flower Market was near so we had to go plus the cafe was around the area.  Dangwa is tucked in between the Laon Laan/ Dimasalang  highway where local jeepneys going to and from Quiapo are plying about. Dangwa is essentially a Manila thing. Not like Rizal Park but it's a true Manila spot.  It's busy, friendly,  feels gritty and grimy in a nice way.  It is open and accessible to people since the place never sleeps and the flowers are very cheap too.

There's a little quaint cafe (La Taza) situated in the middle of it along the highway.  The place could be improved to make it a niche cafe. Make it instagrammable like the posh Aoyama Flower Market in Tokyo as my friends would have wanted it. So much potential since it is situated in Dangwa area.

I have always found myself in the company of flowers-- in my clothes, paper prints that i collect and in actuality since i buy them almost every week. I love 'em. They are almost a staple in my grocery items like dressed chicken but they don't come as cheap as they are in Dangwa. You get a bunch of Stasis for 40 pesos in Dangwa versus triple of that for three stalks in the grocery store!

Flowers are nature's relief from all that is ugly simply because they are naturally beautiful. Seems like they have no other purpose in this world but to bloom and spread beauty (of course, pollen for the bees comes first in the natural order of things).

I told  my friend that my philosophy for buying them is like buying a good experience. Or a therapist maybe? Or a good quiet friend who listens since it won't talk but just stay still in its beauty. It lifts me up. It relaxes me when i arrange them (my new hobby by the way and keeps me from peeling of my cuticle.. yuuulk). It makes my eyes smile at the sight of a nicely curated bouquet which makes it even better when i get them for less than 200 pesos. I am buying beauty to marvel at and not to slather on to my face the way we buy cosmetics.  When I am about to go thru another wringer writing week, i make sure i have some flowers around to relax my eyes with. It's a comforting fact that after the deadline, at least one of us is still pretty and poised. haha. And that's not gonna be me.