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Flowers and tea
New Year is about family visits and catching up. It’s about relationships. The very beautiful pink-buds of the Bonsai from a friend next to Heart Guy’s “gong-fu” tea set, remind me that friendships must be cultivated and maintained. It takes tender care and loving discipline to create beautiful relationships.
New Year is about hope.
Symbols of hope
The traditional fruit and flower displays set out in our home are a material prayer of our aspirations. The baskets remind me that we our lives are about emptiness waiting to be filled, fullness waiting to be shared, emptiness refilled again. The pomelo, pumpkin and pomegranates are symbols of our desire to be fruitful in word and deed. The dragon fruit, which flower so beautifully on cacti in the dry lands of Central Vietnam remind us that even in austerity there can be beauty. And the bottle gourds speak to me of God’s grace, pouring out to us abundantly.
Wishes for material well-being
The house is filled with gifts from friends and business associates, especially oranges wishing us material prosperity. We know how little we really need. Still, we are happy that we are wished much and grateful that we can be of help with what we’ve been given.
In another gift basket, we were sent 3 chrysanthemums along with the oranges.
Autumn flowers in Spring
In colder climates, these are autumn flowers, signifying the last burst of life before the winter. In tropical Singapore, we get them flown in year round from refrigerated greenhouses. But I am reminded, Heart Guy and I are stepping into the autumn period of our lives. Carpe Diem – we need to capture the hours and the days. We need to not waste them.
Out in the patio, there are kumquats and pussy willows to help us welcome our visitors. They are a symbol of our prayers for all who enter our heart doors – that they too may have plenty; that like willows planted near water, they will thrive.
Bountiful kumquats, rooted willows
And for all of you dear friends who are sharing this prayer of New Year Fruit and Flowers with me – May you all be well. May you be happy. May you be at peace. May Spirit walk with you all these hours and days of the New Year:)In Love and Light …
What is your Prayer for 2014 for yourself, your family and the world? Let us know so we can pray with you …
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