Live Life to The Fullest

This morning as I walked down my driveway to retrieve my morning paper, I stopped to admire the beautiful pink cherry blossoms that grace my yard for such a short time each spring. As it does more and more these days this took me to my computer to find out more…. And once again, I find myself wanting to share the essence of yet another of Mother Nature’s wonders. The Cherry Blossom ~ Cherry blossoms are flowers of the cherry blossom tree known in Japan as the "sakura." In Japan the cherry blossom is seen as an omen of good fortune, an emblem of love and affection, as well as an enduring metaphor for the fleeting nature of mortality. Symbol of Hope ~ The cherry blossom season overlaps with the fiscal and calendar years in Japan, marking the arrival of new beginnings. The exuberance and intensity of the cherry blossom, therefore, bestows the license to hope and dream of greater things to come and to look ahead with enthusiasm and optimism. Symbol of Power ~ China upholds the cherry blossom as representing feminine beauty and dominance. It is regarded as a symbol of a woman's attractive looks and her ability to command men by means of her beauty and sexuality. The flower also symbolizes love, which is known as maintaining a feminized emotion. Symbol of Humanity ~ The blooming season of cherry blossoms are brief, resulting in instant beauty and immediate death of the flower. Within the Japanese culture they serve as reminders of humanity and mortality since, like cherry blossoms, a human being's life can end at any given moment. The human condition is epitomized through the cherry blossom, alerting people that life is too short to waste away and that people should live life to the fullest. http://www.ehow.com/about_6545624_meaning-cherry-blossom-flowers_.html