SanShots: Hanami Party

"May you live all the days of your life." ~Jonathan Swift

There is a Yoshino Cherry tree in our yard. We planted it there. Actually we have planted several there – in that same spot – but this one decided to spread some roots and stay awhile.

"Live every day as if it were your last and then some day you'll be right."

~H.H. Morant

The Yoshino is a fairly fast growing tree. It should reach about 30 feet tall and wide at its maturity. Alas, in about 15 years it will have reached it peak in size

and beauty and will not live much past that length of time.

“Don't be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of.” ~Charles Richards

It is most beautiful for about one week in the year – appearing as a cloud of pink blooms in March. The tree is also pretty other times in the year, but never as much as that brief week of glory in the early spring.

“And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count.

It's the life in your years.” ~Abraham Lincoln

I read the Japanese have a tradition of hosting a Hanami Party to celebrate cherry blossom season. “Hanami” means “cherry blossom viewing”. Since the peak bloom viewing is so brief, I think that tradition is akin to a Latin saying, “Carpe Diem,” that is popularly translated as “seize the day”.

“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." ~Annie Dillard

I took the wise advice of the Japanese and Latin sayings and spent a little time under my Yoshino Cherry tree while it was at its peak this year. It was a very enjoyable time and very well spent – even though I admit that I don’t spend enough moments in such pleasurable indulgences…and it is even less seldom that I do so without feeling guilty regarding all the other things I “should” be doing.