Flowers Have Powers

My recent trip to Asia opened my eyes to an interconnected way of living with nature. I believe I revere nature, but I have been listening to Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers, and my thoughts have been challenged. Reverance of nature is a cultural bias. Asian cultures have it embedded in all aspects of life. I was surprised to discover our Western culture has a different view of nature; we have an inherited belief in dominion over nature. (which is perhaps why one man believes it is ok to clearcut 200 million acres of national forests)

This month, I want to share with you the Flowers of Thailand; it was a feast of flowers everywhere. Understanding their powers is an emotional experience.  

Do you enjoy fresh-cut flowers in your home? I do!  I arrange them in a vase and place them in my private space where I enjoy them. Fresh flowers are on public display in Bangkok, and experiencing this reverence, respect, and power of flowers was a highlight of my trip to Bangkok, Thailand.

Streamers of flowers adorn water taxis, motorbikes, tuk-tuks, entrances, and alters, displayed as an offering to the guardian spirits of protection.

Flowers, especially lotus flowers, are brought to shrines and placed at the feet of the Buddha as a sign of respect, devotion, and a prayer for blessings.

Marigolds, in their deep orange-gold color, symbolize good fortune. Garlands of marigolds swaying in the breeze attract good luck and prosperity.

In Thailand, there is a deep interconnection between humans and nature. Nature is revered and personified. Spirits inhabit everything: wind, rain, fire, rocks, and trees. 

The land hosts spirits, and when the ground is disturbed by architecture, a spirit house provides a home for the spirits of the land to live.  These spirit houses are ritually honored with fresh flowers and other gifts to offer gratitude for using the land.

Walking through the flower markets in Bangkok, I was amazed at the sheer quantity of flowers for sale to meet the daily demand for fresh blossoms.  Tubs filled with sprays of Orchids in deep purples, pinks, and white were for sale in every corner.

The marigold blooms strung on threads through the heads of the flowers create streamers and garlands in many lengths.  Jasmine blossoms are threaded into wrist-size wreaths with dangling fingers of blooms at the end.

Once arranged, these tiny wreaths are displayed on ice to keep them fresh. 

After walking through the markets, we drove about an hour out of the city to the bank of the Mahaswat Canal, where we climbed into a small motorboat and traveled to a lotus farm.  There were thousands of buds emerging from the water. The lotus grows in muddy water and emerges clean and beautiful.

It symbolizes the ability of anyone suffering in the muck of life to emerge into beauty.  A hopeful sign indeed. In addition to the adoration of flowers, Lotus roots and seeds are a staple in Thai cuisine, soups, salads, and tea.

Our guide explained that the farmer walks into the waist-high water to gather individual stems by hand. Once at the lotus farm, we less than gracefully stepped into a row boat to float among the lotus. New buds emerge daily and are transported daily to the markets. Skilled flower workers pinch the outer petals to help them stay fresh longer and bundle them into bouquets.

I tried manipulating the petals, but I would need much more practice to achieve the acceptable tailored look required for an offering.

Waterlilies grow among the lotus leaves, and the man rowing our boat made a blossom necklace, tying the roots together like a chain, and offered it to me.

From here, we motored back up the canal and visited an orchid farm.

A black shade cloth tented the small nursery, and inside were raised beds of mauve butterfly orchids producing hundreds of orchid blooms.  A climate of warm, moist air and abundant rain provides an ideal environment for growing orchids.

Flower farmers raise crops for people hungry for the blooms, food for the soul, and gifts to the benevolent spirits. Flowers are essential for a good life, a daily journey seeking enlightenment and peace.  Fresh flowers are fleeting, and their beauty is intense yet brief.  A reminder of our life if we pay attention. Flowers have powers.