Pines are very meaningful in Japanese and Chinese gardens, or the Confucian garden. (Check last blog for the definition of the Confucian garden.) Commonly interpreted as a sign of longevity, the Asian pine represents not only a triumphant energy over the common, deciduous trees, but also a symbol of limberness with reaching limbs upwards to the sky. The Confucian model for a superior human spirit includes the pine. Among the world of trees, the pine rarely gets sick. Ancient forests are filled with century old pines. The Asian pine figures prominently in paintings and bonsais to remind us of health and resilience in body as in spirit. In some Asian paintings, a pine grows out of a rocky crag, seemingly defying the need for soil. Norse traditional stories of the Christmas firs and conifers bear similar secular roots of thriving against harsh winters. This blatant disregard against unpredictable, uncontrollable weather or soil conditions is the resilience the pine represents. As we weather the unpredictable nature of Covid-19, listen to the pine, it reminds us to be resilient.
