Seeking the Real Metaphor.

I said in an earlier post that the Japanese venerate cherry blossom as a symbol of the perennial state of flux which permeates all aspects of life. It seems to me that the same can also be said of gardens generally. 

When I look at an attractive garden in spring I often feel a hint of frustration that the view is in a state of passage. You can’t hang onto it however much you want to. The flowers that are there now will be gone in May, and new flowers will have taken their place. In June the view will have changed again, and so it will continue until everything will have passed and autumn will be on us to presage the seeming emptiness of winter. At such times I can’t help seeing the garden as a metaphor for the finite nature of life, and that includes mine.

But is it only that? Could it not also be nature’s way of showing us the cycle of life, death and rebirth which, according to eastern religions and philosophies, also applies to us? Is there something hidden in plain sight here, or am I pointlessly juggling concepts because I have nothing better to do?