• Home
  • About
  • Mother Loss Memoir
  • Birth Spirituality
  • Shop
  • Articles
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Newsletter

Peg Conway

A Brief Burst of Beauty

April 11, 2015 By Peg Conway 2 Comments

IMG_0698In the spring season of new life, the natural world teaches about resurrection. Visiting Washington DC this week for my first-ever  Cherry Blossom Festival I learned the Japanese word hanami, which literally means “to view flowers” but usually refers to the viewing of cherry blossoms. For more than 1000 years, the Japanese have revered the cherry blossoms. Their practice of hanami consists of picnics with family and friends beneath the branches, and each spring they eagerly monitor blossom forecast maps to be ready for the all too brief season that lasts no more than two weeks.

The first gift of 3000 cherry trees from Japan were planted around the Tidal Basin area and other sites in 1912, and an American version of this tradition has evolved here in our nation’s capital since 1935. For several weeks in late March/early April, the festival includes tours and programs related to Japanese culture as well as cherry trees, live performances, a parade and a street festival. Images of the iconic flower proliferate throughout the city, from stickers affixed to bike rental stands and house windows, to shops selling magnets, water bottles, t-shirts and more, to theme banners on public buildings.

Now I understand all the fuss. The actual trees truly inspire awe! Joe and I strolled partway around the Tidal Basin on Wednesday, and chilly, cloudy conditions did not obscure the beauty of the blossoms. Peak blossom time is occurring this weekend, and the sense of anticipation was palpable along with the growing crowds.

IMG_0696In contrast to such outward frenzy, hanami beckoned quietly. “Practice viewing cherry blossoms.” On Friday we heeded this inner voice, rising early without stopping for breakfast or even a cup of coffee to walk several blocks to the Tidal Basin, past the Washington monument where there are also cherry trees, on another misty, chilly, overcast morning. Exquisite beauty rewarded us! Compared to our previous visit just two days before, we noticed some trees completely in bloom, to amazing effect. Their soft snowy fullness embodies piercing vulnerability as well as graceful abundance. A sign of spring re-birth, unflinchingly they witness to the fleeting nature of life.

In the 9th century, Japanese poet Ariwara no Narihira captured this realization in just a few lines of verse.
IMG_0688If this world had never
known the ephemeral charms
of cherry blossoms
then our hearts in spring might match
nature’s deep tranquility.

To embrace such loveliness in full knowledge of its short-lived nature is to be forever changed by death and loss, he seems to say. Friday morning as we came full circle around the Tidal Basin, our son texted that college basketball player Lauren Hill had passed away from the brain cancer that afflicted her since late 2013. It seemed fitting to remember Lauren, who impacted the nation with her courage and in the process helped raised more than $1 million for cancer research, in a place of such contemplative splendor. “What a life she lived,” I texted back. We returned to the hotel and ate breakfast in the restaurant while a tribute to Lauren played soundlessly on ESPN. Later these three quotes from her grabbed my attention via Facebook:

“It was a dream come true to play on the college court. And it was so thrilling to get there and be able to put my foot down and feel the roar of the crowd and the vibrations of the floor boards and I love it so much.”

“I’m spreading awareness and also teaching people how to live in the moment because the next moment’s not promised. Anything can happen at any given moment. What matters is right now.”

“What’s happening now is not going to help me and it’s not going to help everybody else right away. But it’s going to help in the future, and it’s eventually going to make something happen.”

Like the cherry blossoms, Lauren Hill embodied a too-brief burst of beauty that is transformative and unforgettable.

IMG_0703

A Patron Saint for Autism
Ritual for Earth Day

Comments

  1. kate powers says

    April 13, 2015 at 4:07 pm

    YOU have blossomed so beautifully as a writer since you’ve started this blog! Thank you for sharing this Kate

    Sent from my iPhone

    >

    Reply
  2. Peg Conway says

    April 13, 2015 at 4:19 pm

    Thanks, Kate!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • Breast Cancer Risk: A Long-Term Relationship
  • No Joke: Gritty Truth about Mother Loss
  • Mary Poppins Shines Light on Grieving Children
  • Telling Your Grief Story: A Playful Approach
  • Ripples of Grief Guest Post: Suriani Bakri

Recent Comments

  • Melinda on No Joke: Gritty Truth about Mother Loss
  • Suriani on Ripples of Grief Guest Post: Suriani Bakri
  • Suriani on Ripples of Grief Guest Post: Suriani Bakri
  • Melinda on Ripples of Grief Guest Post: Suriani Bakri
  • Jackie on Ripples of Grief Guest Post: Suriani Bakri

Archives

  • October 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • August 2018
  • April 2018
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • November 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • May 2016
  • March 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • July 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • March 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010

Categories

  • Advent
  • Art and Creative Expression
  • Birth
  • Catholic nuns
  • childhood grief
  • Christmas
  • Communion of Saints
  • Creation
  • Divison in the Church
  • Elder care
  • Fatherhood
  • Funerals
  • God
  • Healing
  • Liturgical Year
  • Liturgy
  • Love
  • Marriage
  • Mother loss
  • Motherhood
  • Ordination
  • Prayer and Practices
  • Public Affairs
  • Reviews
  • Ritual
  • Saints
  • Spring
  • Uncategorized
  • Weddings
  • Women Leader
  • Writing

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

© 2018 Peg Conway

Privacy Policy. Terms.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We take your privacy seriously. Click here for our privacy policy. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Necessary Always Enabled

Get a free writing course

The loss of a parent in childhood changes everything, at that moment and forever into the future, with grief’s effects recurring at points throughout life.  At any age, even decades after the loss, the most important way of coping is to say what happened, if only to yourself. Ripples of Grief invites you to name and honor your experiences as a grieving child.