“Flowers on the Water”: Poem and Reiki
- Sonia - Flor de Agua
- Jul 17
- 5 min read
Hello, I am Sonia, a massage therapist and Reiki Master providing therapies for women in the center of Barcelona.
Today I am thrilled to share with you my reflection on a short Japanese poem that made me smile when I read it, as its title is very similar to the name of my space, Flor de Agua.
But before sharing it, let me explain a bit of the context behind this poem and why it matters when we talk about Reiki therapies, and when we want to find peace and harmony in a world that can sometimes feel very fast-paced.
HISTORY OF THE GYOSEI: Poems to invite meditation and reflection
“Flowers on the Water”, one of my favorite poems, is a Gyosei.
What is a Gyosei?
It is a type of poem created in Japan between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Japanese word Gyosei means "poem composed by the Emperor"—the Emperor Meiji, during this era.
They are very short, brief, and condensed poems consisting of 5 lines (with a 5-7-5-7-7 syllable structure).
Even so, they are deeply profound poems that use metaphorical, dreamlike language, making multiple readings of the same poem possible. Each person can read and interpret it differently depending on the moment of life they are going through.
Sometimes they are confused with Haikus, which are also short Japanese poems, but much older (dating back to the 17th century—the Edo period).
While Haikus usually capture a present moment and help connect with the here and now, Gyosei have a more philosophical purpose.
Gyosei possess a certain literary beauty and musicality, but the Emperor did not create them for this reason; he wrote them with the intention of helping people reflect on their inner world, on spirituality, and to elevate their consciousness.
Emperor Meiji (the 122nd Emperor of Japan) created nearly 100,000 Gyosei in total.
Mikao Usui, the creator of the Usui Reiki system, was deeply inspired by these poems in his daily life and decided to keep 125 of them as an ethical, moral, and spiritual guide for his students within the practice of Reiki. As a Reiki therapist, I use them daily for myself and for the people who come to see me in Barcelona.
In addition to the Gokai (see previous article), Gyosei play a central role in Reiki for meditation and for finding greater peace in daily life.
“FLOWERS ON THE WATER”: Gyosei and reflection
My favorite Gyosei is the following:
Flowers on the Water - “The wonderful thing about the flowers growing by the lake is that, even when they fall, they swim on the water, and one can admire their beauty.”
I invite you to read and reread this poem. I invite you to close your eyes and listen to the words resonate. Savor each word. The intention and the meaning behind this phrase. What does it mean to you? How do you interpret it? What meaning do you give it? Take a notebook and write down whatever comes to mind before reading my personal interpretation.
When I read Flowers on the Water, I feel softness, sensitivity, and harmony. I feel the moonlight and femininity. And beneath these phrases, I feel the power of Resilience. Without any noise or unnecessary effort, without drawing attention to itself, it represents the strength that each of us carries within to continue on our path. Even when we have faced difficult times, even when we have felt broken and empty inside, life goes on, life returns. Silent, calm, like a mirror.
For me, the flowers are a nod to the blossoming soul, to a soul and a life in expansion, to a soul developing the side of itself that embraces humanity. The lake can represent emotions, a mirror, a cycle, the rest of society, or darkness.
When the flower falls, in the word fall I see a wound, a life accident, a trauma, an ending, sadness, and grief. It makes me think of how fragile, delicate, light, and subtle a flower is, and how easily it could disappear when it falls.
But the magic of the flowers growing by the lake is that, even when they fall, “they swim on the water.” Here, I interpret this part to mean that even in our moment of greatest vulnerability, even when we "hit rock bottom," we can keep moving forward (keep swimming). Even in difficult moments when we might be more prone to losing hope, and when we might believe we are no longer worthy—worthy of love, worthy of life—even in those moments, we are beautiful. And even then, people around us, or the universe, or life itself, will be able to see our beauty, even in the most difficult or darkest moments of our lives.
Flor de Agua and Resilience, Massage and Reiki
This poem touches me in a special way because I chose the name of my space without knowing this Gyosei, and I like to believe it is a beautiful wink from life to see this coincidence. In this Gyosei, I see a reflection of my own life and the lives of many women who come to see me.
Indeed, here at Flor de Agua, my Ikigai (another Japanese word! Which, to put it very briefly, means "life mission"—I will write another article to talk about Ikigai), my Ikigai is to accompany women on paths of transformation and resilience; to have these reflections on light and darkness, on expansion and falling, on beauty and dignity, in order to bring new perspectives to certain life problems.
I offer this entire path of resilience through bodily and emotional listening, and through a connection with your innate wisdom and spirituality. You can find more information on my website here.
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I hope you enjoyed this article, and I will be back soon with more Gyosei!
And do not forget, the most important thing with these poems is to take your time reading them, savor them, and return to them several times at different moments in your life. Listen to your intuition and do not be afraid to have your own interpretation. Deepen your understanding by seeing how reading this poem can bring more peace and harmony to your daily life.
Also, here is a small tip: since they are very short poems, I invite you to learn a few of them by heart—the ones that speak to you or move you the most.
Nowadays, we rarely learn things by heart since knowledge is so easy to access in just a few clicks, but in this case, it is interesting because you can return to these poems whenever you need them in your daily life, with more confidence and security.
For any questions about this article, you can write to me; I will be delighted to answer you (giving it time, as I am meditating or in sessions during most of my day 😊🙏).
Thank you for reading me, This short article was written without pretense and with my heart in the original spanish version (here you see the translate version online) 🦋
Sonia Massage Therapist and Reiki Master
at Flor de Agua Barcelona
