Author: clfuu

Providing towels for a guest is an expected courtesy, but topping them with a rose is an extravagant offering of beauty.

When has the world given you far more than you had reason to expect?

“We show hospitality to strangers not merely because they need it, but because we need it, too. The stranger at the door is the living symbol and memory that we are all strangers here.”
―Thomas G. Long

How do you experience yourself as needing hospitality?

Evolution has designed flowers to serve as beacons of welcome, using color, scent and shape to draw in bees and other pollinators. The reproduction strategy of the flowers is inseparable from the food strategy of the bees.

How have you benefited from giving something away?

The rainbow flag not only serves as a symbol of pride for LGBTQ folks, it also serves as a symbol of welcome, a declaration to people who often find judgment in society that they will find acceptance and inclusion here.

How do you offer hospitality to those who face prejudice or rejection from the larger society?

The pineapple is a traditional symbol of hospitality. Which is sort of an interesting choice, given that the exterior of a pineapple is extremely prickly and off-putting.

When have you managed to push past a prickly exterior to find welcome within?