The Queen's Flowers

Click on photos to enlarge! Lotus - by Beth Eisenberg

"This very moment is the perfect teacher, and lucky for us, it's with us wherever we are." Pema Chodron

Queen Lili`uokalani, Last Monarch of Hawaii;

Iolani Palace in Background.

(note the lei & hu`ukupu, "gifts")

“Set your course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship”
Omar Bradley

Racist Political Cartoon of the Queen,

Her Throne Precarious on American Bayonets.

In her hand are papers reading "Scandalous Government"

and "Gross Immorality."

“How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he senses it. But without deeper reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people.”
Albert Einstein

The Beloved Lili`uo Herself

"All things change; nothing perishes."

OVID

When the Hawaiian Kingdom was overthrown by local American businessmen in 1893 with the tacit backing of U.S. Marines off of the USS Boston, the Queen was imprisoned in Iolani Palace.

In addition to being quarantined from her beloved people, she was also denied any news of the world beyond her window.

The gardener at her gracious Waikiki home, Paokalani, continued to tend her beloved flowers in expectation of her return. Every day he sent the Queen a bouquet of fresh flowers.

And each bouquet was wrapped in fresh newspapers!

The tides of larger events oft rock our little lives. Even a royal ship of state can founder.

But though we experience loss, even the loss of a whole kingdom, there still remain flowers to pause and enjoy.

And those we love will find simple, yet eloquent ways reach out to us.

A L O H A! Cloudia

PS: Yesterday's photo of "mystery fruit" was: MANGO on da tree!