Anticipation

With building anticipation I waited impatiently for the last seven nights.  My Queen of the Night generated a small hairy bud as an appendage off the edge of a leaf a week ago and since then I have gone to bed each night on tenterhooks – so as to not miss this yearly event.  At 2200 last night a gentle perfume wafted into my lounge and I was presented with this flower in all its glory.

Sometimes referred to by its Chinese name, Tan Hua (as in Crazy Rich Asians) or in Vietnamese as “Da Quynh”, this epiphytic orchid cactus is reclusive only revealing its stunning flower at night once a year. In Vietnam it is common to invite all your neighbours to witness this fortuitous event.

The observance is an omen of happiness and because of its rarity, good luck.  Its short flowering is a metaphor for how good things don’t last. The flower emanates harmonizing energies to build relationships and heal discord. It attracts abundance and amplifies financial health and career success. (Just like a gong.) In many Asian cultures from India to Malaysia it is used to treat respiratory ailments, reducing pain and inflammation.

Gazing at a rare flower is just one of nature’s ways to share indescribable perfection. Who can’t help but feel a lifting in their heart?