Freedom Song

Heyo, guys!! Having fun in the summer sun? I wanna share this special music with you today. Yup, I promise...these guys are great. Perfect for you to dance, smile, and sing out loud. Their tunes simply brings you joy and happiness and are made out of 100% Pure Love and Positivity. Here's the link to Luc and the lovingtons.

*The photo was borrowed from their Myspace photo album.

Whatcha think? Give a shout out to them! How I found them? Ok, everything starts from my favorite blog " Freshness Factor Five Thousand ". Yup, some of you already know that's Jason Mraz's bolg site. In his blog, he explained how he stumbled upon the song called " Freedom Song" : How I got to Ghana is a story that begins with a song. Last year I stumbled onto a radical project called Harmonic Humanity. The successful Seattle based organization that puts original music in the hands of the homeless, who then are given the opportunity to distribute the CD’s as they do with newspapers nationwide. Their first album included the standout “Freedom Song” written by Luc Reynaud and a group of extraordinary children. Understanding music to be a powerful healing tool, Luc and his guitar traveled from Seattle to Louisiana right after Katrina hit. There, he would compose The Freedom Song with displaced kids. It would become an instant hit for families in Baton Rouge.On Luc’s myspace page he asked the song and story be shared with the world. I immediately found myself playing it for my friends whenever they got in my car and soon I’d be covering it at gatherings. In no time, my whole community was hooked on it.

Freedom Song

Luc Reynaud | MySpace Music Videos

I simply love this song so much. It lifts your spirit up up up in the sky high! Feel the power of human love through this music. Well, if it's a beautiful thing....why not share it? right? Please pass this song to your friends and family. Let's spread the words of love, shall we? ...and you can order their CD through their Myspace page. I ordered a copy of it already :) Felipe (vocals and percussion ) is a sweet person to talk to. "I'm Awake" is another sweet song I love. Sing out loud, be happy :)

Speaking of love...why don't I tell you about Jason Mraz's extraordinary effort to bring happiness & freedom to the children who are imprisoned as child slaves in Ghana.  Jason traveled to Ghana lately to get involved himself into helping end child slavery with an organization called "Free The Slaves".  He's been enthusiastically involved himself into these humanitarian activisms. Every individual's small acts would change the world to a better place. His words are fresh and inspirational. Watch this video interview and think what we can do to bring more smiles on the children in our society.

Watch live streaming video from aplive at livestream.com

and...today, June 23rd is Jason Mraz's birthday!! Yeah, Mraz day everyone!!! Happy Birthday, Jason Mraz!!!

Much love and the power of music for everyone on this mother earth,

Hana

Weekend Fun

Howdy? I guess most of you are back at work already. How was the long weekend? I had a great one. Yes, I got a opportunity to be a flower elf this weekend!!! Yaaaaay! So sweet to be involved with what I love. I helped out an event designer, Jerry Sibal at Design Fusion NYC. 

The weather was nice but hot...then the designer required us to wear all black attire for his job. So, imagine...boy...it was the most appropriate day to wear a black T-shirt and a pair of black pants! All the designers were melting. The wedding was held at a country club in Long Island. I was too busy to take pics, but I have some to share my experience with you all. Here we go. 

Boys and girls are preparing the low centerpieces for the dining tables using wheat grass, white roses and some lemon leaves in a square box. You'll see the final product later. The front arrangement is a bride & groom table arrangement I worked on. 

Boys are constructing a frame for a place card table arrangement. Using the designer's signature material, wisteria vine. 

Jerry is working on a runner for a ceremony. He meticulously attaches small pieces of white fabrics shaped in rose petals onto it. Beautiful and romantic.

So, this is the tall centerpieces for a dining room. His style is always lush! Peonies, roses, and hydrangeas...." An Event To Remember ", his latest book reveals another gorgeous works of his company. Check it out! 

and the low centerpieces with candles and a mirror. The reflection on the mirror must be fantastic when you light  up the candles. They illuminate everything around it. 

A place card table. The bride looooooves this phalaenopsis orchid. 

Cocktail tables are situated outside with simple arrangements of white peonies. The glass vase were all covered with tropical leaves. It gives you a clean, crisp summer sensation. In this kinda weather, it's perfect!!

Here's the decoration of a ceremony. The boys set up these metal gates. Too heavy for me?! 

Two big entrance arrangements and a chuppah decoration at a back. 

Oy vey....building up this chuppah under the hot & steamy weather is hard...!!! We have to keep spraying on the flowers otherwise...they wilt quickly with the heat :(  

Lastly...this is a cake decoration we ( myself and another designer ) worked on in a refrigerator....brrrrrr...yeah, it was cold!!! Crazy day with the extreme temperature changes, you know? BTW, the cake looks delish, yes? I tasted a piece of white chocolate...yum! shhh....it was just a piece! 

So, this is the life of flower people. We are all here to make your event special and most importantly our mission is to make you happy :) I must say, flower people are all flower joyologists! We love to send you our love throughout the work! 

Recovering from the body exhaustion because of the intense job on the wedding, I visited Central Park again yesterday. Wanted to receive a healing energy from trees and flowers. Then I happened to encounter these people!!! 

Yup, they are hula dancers!!! I later figured out they are the students of  Halau Hula O Na Mele 'Aina O Hawai'i. The organization offers the hula dance lessons and gives some performances in the city. Surprisingly, among them...I found a girl I know of! A white shirt with a flower in her hair...she's the owner of a boutique, Saada on the 2nd Ave and 61st street. She was superb! This event provokes a strong interest on joining the class. Funny, one of my best friend in Japan is also crazy about this Hawaiian culture. hmm...universe suggests me to explore another possibility to expand my flower joyologist misssion. Interesting.

I can see myself in the group...I wanna join it!! 

Remember, life passes with a blink of eyes. Enjoy each moment of your life. Be happy, Be creative, Be who you are. LOVE WHO YOU ARE. 

Love and gratitude, 

Hana

PS. Ms Joyologist Tricia Hoffman is joining aids bike ride tour between 6/6-12 for 7days. Let's send her cheers and love!! Namaste...

Being Free

I was at the rooftop of my apartment building the other night. Wanted to look up the evening sky and listen to the urban sounds of New York. Wish I could share the sound and soft summer breeze with you all. Feels so magical to stay up there, you know? All the visual images and physical experiences are merging into one. Like you're creating a piece of art.  I love it when it happens...!

I've been thinking about " Being Free ". This photo shows you the state of " Being Free ".

Yup, I cut the straps off from these sandals because they hurt my feet a lot. Without the straps, I feel much comfortable!! See? My feet are no longer tethered, no more blisters! Yes! ...and I notice the fact that I'm living in the condition I'm no longer tethered as well. Being unemployed and I'm free. Only a myriad of possibilities stand out. What a great feeling that is! 

I was once a waitress dreaming about becoming a flower designer in NYC. My passion led me to what I wanted to be : A flower designer.  I kept walking on the path for a long time. The straps clung to my old path has been cut off and they let me go. I'm on my way to find other possibilities in my career path. I believe the reality is the creation of our thoughts. Here we go...I've started conveying my dream into a reality once again. and you know what? It's been great. Seriously, everything is starting to work out well. I'll keep you posted on my story ;) 

Meanwhile, I'd share these images of my " Being Free And Happy " moments with you all. 

Found an ice cream truck in soho. They are so so soooooo good! 

and I got a scoop of yummy (handpicked)strawberry ice cream! ahhh.... nom nom..and nom... :9

Of course, I found a perfect place looking at red rambling roses while I was eating the ice cream.

See that? How gorgeous they are? Peeking through the iron gate, I got kisses from the peach roses. 

At my feet, there were twinkle twinkle little yellow stars greeting " Hello! ". 

The little white flowers are like clouds in the sky. Gentle and fragile. 

I love strolling around the city when the weather is good. Finding these precious little happiness are extremely fun! 

Lastly, this is just an additional part of this blog, not related to the title at all..., but I happened to open this book " A CLOUD " a while ago, so let me introduce this artist,  a Japanese graphic designer, Katsumi Komagata. He's an award-winning graphic designer who are inspired by the development of his daughter, and he began creating sets of visual story books and playful cards games in 1990. I love his book called " A CLOUD ". In the book, he explains how our daily life keeps changing and ends eternally...then a new life, a new day to follow. He gives a metaphor by using the life of clouds : Clouds meet their changes in the shapes and dissolve and reborn again every day, every hours, every minutes, and every seconds. He uses different textures of papers so that it gives you a great physical sense of feeling or touching on the different clouds every time you turn the pages. Life never stop changing, we can only cherish the past but holding it. I love his words at the end of this book : The clouds seem close but are very far. They keep on forming and changing all the time. Clouds contain water which is heavier than air by almost 800 times. Million of tons. Great energy is in each cloud. Gradually, they become rain falling onto the ground. We are always under the sky. In my childhood I wondered why the clouds moved. Sometimes they would make me wish something and think of someone, sometimes I would predict the weather with them. There are cloudy days. Sometimes I forget to look at the sky because I am too busy. So there are clouds inside the book. As we turn the pages, memories come back with the view of clouds that we have seen before. 

Hope you are feeling happy and free as well. Wherever you are...I send you love. 

" The clouds form and die eternally. There is only clouds for today.
There will be clouds again for tomorrow."

Much love & gratitude to you all, 

Hana 

Slow Down....

" Slow down, you move too fast, got to make the morning last..."

Simon & Garfunkel

I definitely agree with what Simon & Garfunkel sing in the song.  Our urban life style usually forces us to keep going. We are not having enough time to survey what our life's purposes are. Take a moment in the morning, or afternoon or before you go to bed. Just look around and find the serene joy coming to you. Ask yourself what's your priority in life? Hope you find the answer. BTW, I felt the flower smiling joy while I was looking at these guys in a park. Check them out. 

Green leaves are swaying in the spring breeze....

Then, trees are dressing up with a ray of sunshine....

Little white flowers try to embrace you in their arms....

and these little blue flower says, " Don't forget about me! "....

I know this must be my privilege to have this happy moment in the park, yes? I am a Flower Joyologist, I understand their (=flowers & trees ) words ;)  It's already weekend, everyone. How are you spending your free time? Movie? Hiking? Bike tour? Whatever it is, enjoy the moment you live in. Enjoy every moment you breathe. Here's my favorite quote : Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning. -Albert Einstein

Love to you all,

Hana 

Simple Life

"Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans. -John Lennon "

I just happend to be there in Central Park and found this quote of John Lennon yesterday afternoon. It was an extremely fantastic weather, breezy and sunshine. All the trees and birds were celebrating LIFE! Under a warm ray of sunshine, I met an Italian guy who is an educator/life coach. We had a nice chat for a while. He may be another messenger from the universe? 

It's been a week since I was laid off. So far, so good. A new idea comes and goes...An image of myself in the future gets clearer than before. At first, I felt kinda awkward spending lots of time at home. I didn't know how to adjust myself into it. I now have enough time to read a book, take a walk in a park during the day ( aside from searching a job... ), breathe into a fresh air ( at least in a park? ), and seeing other people's life along the way is so powerful and inspiring. These simple things were missing while I had a full-time work at a flower shop. Being laid off is a painful matter, but I feel joy at this moment...The joy comes from a freedom. I've never got out of an ordinary life style : Work 9am-5pm, 5 days a week. This is my first time not having a job, but I tell ya...I'm having a great time of my life! Sometimes bitter, sometimes sweet. Life's got all different flavors. So alive. 

My cousin just sent me an email from Japan. She's recently moved in to a remote area in Kyoto, quitting her job, trying to adjust herself to a new life. It's an extremely small community that dosen't have much of an urban life style : No big super markets, no hot bars or restaurants to hang out, no cooking school she can offer her incredible talent. She used to be a cooking/baking instructor at a cooking school. Her passion was to bake all the different breads and to teach and share the fun with other people. Well, everything comes from a heart would be precious, isn't it? On the contrary to the inconvenience in her new daily life, she started to find a joy. She explains : I may have withdrawn myself a few steps behind from where I was before, but I've started to see everything in a beautiful picture. I had an enormous pressure to catch up with my assignments, work, and house keepings, but now... I have a time to enjoy outdoor life in the nature, buying seasonal vegetables and fruits from a local green market. I find a happiness in a very simple life. Breathe, eat and sleep. I'll start baking when we finish our kitchen renovation, so it'll be awesome! 

I found her story and my new life have something in common. We both found a joy in a state of being free. We are both free from our old comfort zones. Creating a new circumstance to live. Spring has sprung, summer is on the way. Our journey takes us to another surprise, another struggles, another happiness. Life is all good afterwards... :) 

What about yours? So far, so good, I believe...! I send you this pretty smiles of lily of the valley. They signify the return of happiness in the " language of flowers ". So, catch it!

Much love and kisses to you all, 

Hana

Transformation In Progress

Time flies...17 days of my Japanesy life passed so fast, and can't really believe it's been almost a week since my arrival in the US. Yes, I'm back in where I belong to. Well, New York is still my base camp at least for now. I may change my mind in the future, who knows? I trust in the ever-changing climate of the heart ( I borrowed the expression from Jason Mraz. Thank you. ) 

My trip to Japan turned out to be fantastic. My dad's surgery went well and he's recuperating faster than we expected! High 5 for his fighting spirit :) As the spring season kicks off with tons of cherry blossoms, signs of new life, hope, and happiness shows up everywhere we look around. Good to feel the vibes from the nature. 

oh, I show you some pics of those cherry trees in Kyoto before anything else. 

There were so many places you could go and see these beautiful trees throughout the city. Just amazing! Go and see those beauty next spring time if you can. 

Anyways...my spring dream life in Japan is over, I now face to a reality in NY. Ouch! Honestly, I would've stayed longer in Kyoto because I could stay away from this uncomfortable change in my life. Uncomfortable? Yes, stepping out from a comfort zone is very hard. I get lots of pressure and fear by putting myself in the unemployment condition. I can easily get lost in time and end up doing nothing. Here we go, my mind is trying to escape from the NOW. Boy, I thought I'm willing to take this change though? Fear makes me think of avoiding the hardship. 

You'll have to excuse my negativity. I'm a human, I have fears and dark side. Yesterday was one of those depressing day ever. Maybe a gray colored sky and rain added a grim impression to my feeling. Aren't we all have those day, are we? I wanted to lift my heavy heart, so I decided to give myself a gratitude every time I accomplished one thing. Here's the things I did yesterday : I sent out thank you notes to my relatives who visited and shared love with us while my dad was in a hospital. I called my mom & dad to check everything is ok, I read the instruction of filing unemployment...Most importantly, I splurged on sleeping! Need to get over with a jet lag as soon as possible... otherwise I won't be able to use my brain fully!! My language button also needs to switch into English not Japanese ;p Suffice to say, I felt better by the end of the day after acknowledging some improvements in my present situation. 

I found this quote on Superforest today : “Happiness comes from accepting the present situation, whether it is something you wish to savor as long as possible or change as quickly as you can.  Neither is possible without acceptance as the starting point, because without acceptance you are living on the periphery of your life.  There at the edges, you can’t fully enjoy the good stuff or do anything about the rest.” –Victoria Moran  Thank you Superforester Aaron, you made my day!

Time to make more progress...I'll see you all later ;)

Love to you all wherever you are, 

Hana

Start Fresh

Wow, it's April already...! I've been waiting to see all the beautiful spring trees so badly. How are you everyone? Being perky and happy as the weather gets mild and warm? Isn't it so nice to see spring transformation in everywhere? Had enough of rain so far...I see the rays of sunshine coming through my window blinds right now. Feeling alive, feeling happy. 

I strolled around my favorite place, Central Park, on Thursday and today. Everyone seemed so happy to welcome the spring weather. Reading, chatting, sleeping and jogging.... People are soaking up the sun with joy. Great time. Oh, due to a holy week, I would say this to you all...Happy Passover and Happy Easter :)  The Easter bunny is munching Matzo? 

These are the pics of cherry blossoms in the park.

Hope to see them in Japan, too. I'm leaving tomorrow to Kyoto... I'll be there for my dad ;) 

BTW, This April is a special month to me. Dad's surgery, being unemployed, starting a new life and seeing some changes in other people's life. It's so interesting when everything is coming together for a fresh start.  I'd be honest. I'm scared about putting my feet into the unknown, I mean getting out of a comfort zone. I even had a mini-breakdown a while ago...and I'm sure I'll face to some obstacles along the way in the future. As far as I'm concerned, this would be a remarkable new chapter in my life. Looking back my past 15 years, I stayed and worked at the same flower shop. Whoa...15 years...! Time flies, really. Love to my work made this happen, you know? Brava! Time to move on now.

As I was watching the cherry blossoms in the park today, I recalled some conversations with my friends I had a while ago. Those were very inspiring stories. Each story came from a different person, but the main ingredients are the same : Courage, Hope, Positivity. Those people in the stories dip their toes into the unknown and experienced a metamorphosis, a fresh start. What a perfect timing to hear about these stories! I believe something big and magical is pushing my back to follow my interests.  A small step or giant Godzilla step, I'll walk on a new map of my life.

Ok, time is up. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend :)

Love, Bunny, and Cherry Blossoms,

Hana