Yellow Flowers
Day Twenty Nine
In my morning prayer these past few days, I have been watching videos with images of spring’s arrival in Europe, and in particular images of yellow daffodils against the clear blue sky. These are the colours of Ukraine of course, which remind us of the need to pray for the conflict in Ukraine and for the millions of lives thrown into turmoil because of war. Women and children have embarked on a long road seeking refuge in neighbouring countries while the men, young and old, stay on to resist the invading armies.
I am also reminded of the yellow flowers in the grassland of Inner Mongolia, especially in early summer. The teams which were involved in the Green Desert Project in early June will have the joy of being treated to the blooming of the yellow flowers all over the grassland, in the valleys as well as on the hills. Part of the programme crafted for the volunteers after over a week of hard work digging a thousand pits 40-inch deep and planting a thousand tree saplings, will include taking time to reflect on the work done.
Appreciation after the action. That is the time to grow closer to the trees, the shrubs and the grass and learn from nature. The thrill will be to take walks in the grassland together, and lead the team to the selected spots where a sea of yellow flowers have come into full bloom. The joy is to watch everyone drink in the sight overwhelmed by the beauty of the scene before us.
And over the next few days as we continue to traverse the meadows, seeing flocks of white sheep and brown cattle scattered in the vast expanse separated only by a distant horizon where the land meets the sky, we will introduce the Tang poem describing the scene of the simple yet vast and majestic grassland. We can hear the winds as we listen to the poem penned over a thousand years ago as the poet has gone before us in these places.
The locals harvest these yellow flowers in summer and we realised they begin to appear on our menu in the local eateries. Seasonal vegetables indeed. The yellow flowers are also one of the floral tea selection in these places. When we become aware of the presence of these yellow flowers, they begin to feature in our lives in so many ways, flooding our senses in different ways including our taste experiences.
Chrysanthemums must be another type of yellow flower which many of us here are more familiar with, especially as chinese floral tea. It is a flower depicting autumn, the season of matured years. In my earlier reflection on the memorial of the 72 martyrs buried at Yellow Flower Mound in Guangzhou, we learnt that yellow chrysanthemums were used to commemorate these young martyrs over the past hundred years. Chrysanthemums can also celebrate undaunted youthful spirit and idealism. Yellow is truly a bright spring colour when hope springs new.
No wonder the yellow flowers which bloom at the time of Chinese spring festival is aptly named “Yingchun hua” (Flower which welcomes Spring).
Journey with me over 40 days as we reflect on life and hope in the wilderness
See Previous Day’s reflection on the Spirit of the Martyrs. See next reflection on Yellow Earth
