Dear members of the Ikebana International Bucharest Association,

The Ikebana International organization was founded in 1956 by the late Ellen Gordon Allen with the hope that flowers would build bridges of friendship between nations, uniting people through their mutual love for nature and the joy of practicing Ikebana, our motto being “Friendship through Flowers”.

Now, it is more important than ever that we strive to carry our message of friendship and unity, in an increasingly divided world, as the Honorary President of this world wide organization with branches all over the world, Her Imperial Highness, Princess Takamado, says.

The Ikebana International Bucharest Association was founded in 2023 with the aim of affiliating with this beautiful message of Ikebana International, in our corner of the world, being the only branch in Eastern Europe.

Thank you for being part of this world of flowers, from which we can learn so much, especially through the principle of Oubaitori (桜梅桃李). This expression perfectly captures the idea that flowers, like people, simply bloom, in their own way and at their own pace, without fear or envy, just rising, with the joy of feeling the sunlight, the breeze and the life-giving rain.
The word is made up of four kanji that represent the trees that bloom in spring: 桜 (cherry), 梅 (plum), 桃 (peach) and 李 (Japanese apricot). Although they all grow at the same time in Spring, each tree produces beautiful flowers at its own specific time and in its own unique form. This lesson, Oubaitori, teaches us not to compare ourselves with others, but to appreciate with gratitude and joy the gifts with which we came into this world, ours as well as those around us.

I thank everyone who has ever been part of our organization, for their friendship and effort, as well as those who will want to join us in the future.

I would like our group in Ikebana International Bucharest to always be like an orchestra or a choir. I have this choir experience for over 40 years and I can say that it was and is an exceptional school, where we can learn so much about ourselves and about others, about life simply. Although each one “sings” with a specific, unique voice, together we can create harmonies that sound divinely for ourselves or for those around us who will listen to our “music”.

Keeping our own voice and solo line, it is important to tune our voices and instruments and follow the composer or conductor’s instructions, to listen to each other, to support each other, to supplement the breathing of the one next to us, when needed, so that the result does not sound false, dissonant, out of rhythm. Only together we can create harmonious music.

Thank you once again,

Yours, with love and respect,

Florentina