Thursday, December 03, 2009

Dandelions

Many objects are often associated with certain elements in our life. For some people, they become symbols of power, wealth and ranking.



For me, the dandelion is a very significant flower that draws on many special memories with those close at heart. The pictures above were snapped at the Walsgrave Cemetery with my Sony Cybershot more than a month ago.


Many months ago, a dear friend who's majoring in alternative medicine recommended dandelion tea as a form of detoxification as it reduces inflammation. It is highly diuretic and particularly good for women. When another friend enquired whether this particular flower was the weed in our backyards just like the one in this picture, another friend joked, "That's dande-lalang lah!"
The dandelion flower, in actual fact, looks more like a Chrysanthemum, with yellow petals all over. The picture below, taken by Mamasarah back in Spring 2007, shows my second twin throwing a bunch of dandelions up in the air.

Once it has finished flowering, it will turn into seeds; the whole head closes up, and the next time it opens up, the yellow petals change into white fluffy strands which carry hundreds of seeds. It is great fun plucking the dandelion in this form and blowing them in a puff.

To me, the dandelion represents life: Whole, but vulnerable to outside factors. One blow will be enough to set each seed-bearing parachute free. One minute you're all intact, and the other, you're afloating in the air alone!









(Picture of older twin taken by Mamasarah in 2007)

11 comments:

Ummi to Hamzah said...

What a sweet entry! Living in malaysia, ive never thought much on dandelions. But i like looking at it when its in the form of seeds and blowing it sets all seeds to float away :) hope kak D and children are well, love the pics in this entry

Kak anie said...

Salam D...lama tak berkunjung ke mari...cantik sungguh gambar2 yang diambil...and the dandelions look awesome...

Lee said...

Hello D, I'm trying to recollect whether you the 'D' I once knew couple of years back at my pondok?
I'm guessing you are.
The dandelions are beautiful when they flower, as well I believe can be used as some sort of herbal cure.
But a lot of people here dread them ....those who suffer from hay fever. Its the pollen that affects them.

Nice pics, well taken too. Best regards, Lee.

Ms B said...

Deep post here. I reckon I'll be a dandelion tonight, so perhaps I should glue myself to prevent any parachuting.

Hmm, maybe I can bribe the young lady to snuggle in bed early and watch my fav dvd.

hv a good weekend dear!

Unknown said...

hi,I'm new to this blog. A friend of mine suggested me to take a look at this site. thanx to her. I just lost my beloved husband. reading ur earlier reflections made me feel that I'm not the only person who felt like what I'm feeling now. It also gives me strength and inspiration.

Anonymous said...

Hi, can i call u kak D?
wish could communicate with u.
I'm so depressed. I'm 32 and my late husband 33,supposed to be 34 end of Dec. tomorrow is my younger sister's wedding. Seeing the pelamin brought me to the day I was getting married, 7 years ago. I never forget the joy, the happiness we felt but now I'm very2 sad. Sorry for leaving a comment like this. I'm not aware of blogs. normally I use fb to communicate. If u can find me there, please I'm more than happy if we could share stories and I can be as strong as u.-elly rezal haili.

petite n powerful said...

Beautiful entry. Once intact, now blown to float alone....but eventually, will find ground, and flourish in its new location.

Nadia said...

K d,

if there is a 'like' button to press for this, I'd have clicked on it.

Love your analogy !

hugs

may I add more to it?

I had an analogy about it too, I think in a form of a poem but mana tah peginya...but now, extending it from your analogy...

one moment life is intact, the other moment you're floating all by yourself..
yet life goes on, and that floating bits will spread all over the place, bringing with them benefits, khayr.

Khayr is spread just like those floating dandelion seeds...and what is better...these khayr are then planted, take deep root in many different places, and then the life cycle starts all over again.

zoom out and the bigger picture shows us the spread of khayr..ahh now I remember what my poem was about....ISLAM :) dandelion akin to Islam.

love ya k D.

Anonymous said...

hello D!

nice lovely entry. u're definitely a writer.

take care!

KC

Mulan said...

lovely... the story, the writer, the boy, the flower.. masyaAllah..

Ummi to Hamzah said...

Happy new year 2010 kak D and family :)