Dear Friends,
February 12th marks the start of the new lunar year in China. This poem, written in the Tang Dynasty, felt particularly appropriate to share with you all as we end what has been an incredibly hard 12 months.
At school in China, every child learns this poem by heart before the age of seven. Reading it now, I think of those days when the children’s voices flew out of classroom windows, reciting the poem in unison. It’s a beautiful and yet distant memory.
This year, so many flowers fell, and we really don’t know how many. My heart goes out to those families who have lost a loved one.
But the poem also reminds us to close our eyes and hear the calls of birds. It is spring, and a new beginning.
I wish you all a Happy Chinese New Year and a Year of the Ox full of new beginnings.
My very best wishes,
Mei
