This spring’s cherry blossoms have been absolutely beautiful in the Anniversary Orchard.

It’s been mentioned previously that meditating on the simple, perfect beauty of cherry blossom has long been a Japanese past-time, and for good reason. Their fleeting but exquisite beauty stays in the mind’s eye, and when recalled even when they’re gone, the memory is just as enchanting as experiencing them again.

Recalling cherry blossom can be powerfully healing too; amidst life’s challenges one sometimes has to ‘count to ten’, or ‘take a deep breath’, but a technique for calming the mind that beats these is to imagine everything falling away and recalling cherry blossom, either massed on trees or just a single one.

Kendo has pointed out that visualising cherry blossom shares something with meditation – temporarily stepping away from all one’s concerns seems so counter-intuitive to the western mind, but intuitive is exactly what it is – your intuitive self can’t speak to you and guide you with wisdom that’s beyond mere rationalisation unless it has the space to do so. If you’ve already done this you’ll know the benefits, but if not, Kendo strongly recommends that you suspend disbelief and try it.

Whatever challenges you may face, Kendo hopes that the exquisite picture of this year’s cherry blossom can help you find a moment of peace and pure, simple beauty upon which to meditate, and find the pure, intuitive wisdom that lies within you.