“The strongest oak of the forest is not the one that is protected from the storm and hidden from the sun. It’s the one that stands in the open where it is compelled to struggle for its existence against the winds and rains and the scorching sun.” –
—Napoleon Hill
These trees bring back a very inspiring story that I heard on the day we visited the Atomic bomb site in Hiroshima.
The story goes that within a span of ten days after the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, World War II came to an end. It is said that the heat emitted by the explosion in Hiroshima within the first three seconds, at a distance of three kilometers from the hypocentre was about 40 times greater than that of the Sun. Hiroshima had been completely destroyed. In the aftermath of the bombing, there was a rumour that spread like wildfire—that nothing, absolutely nothing would ever grow in Hiroshima for 75 years.
While the city was still in rubble, attempts were being made to restore electricity, transportation, and other functions. The residents who returned to Hiroshima, began looking for materials that had survived the carnage. They salvaged whatever they could, from the sites of destruction and began to rebuild their homes and their lives.
Despite the rumours that nothing would ever grow in Hiroshima for 75 years, the red Canna flowers were the first to bloom in the charred rubble. This infused hope in the minds of the people and filled their broken hearts with a renewed sense of courage and determination.
As the days went by, everyone from Hiroshima who had evacuated to the countryside and the soldiers who had been away, fighting the war, returned to their battered homes, marking the beginning of the city’s long journey to recovery.
The famous Atomic Dome stands testimony to the resilience, courage, hope and strength for a city and its’ people who were broken but not willing to give up!
If this isn’t being courageous, I don’t know what is!
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Thursday Tree love is a photo feature hosted on Parul’s blog, which she shares on the 2nd and the 4th Thursday of every month. The next edition goes live on November 12, 2021. If you would like to play along, post a picture of a tree on your blog, detailing where you spotted the tree and link it back to her post.
I’m very sorry for the devastation and thankful that trees and flowers still grow in Hiroshima. Thank you for your hopeful message.
This story gave me goosebumps. So so inspiring and thank you so much Esha for joining and sharing! I love #ThursdayTreeLove for this exact reason that I get to see much more than I could myself cover in one life 🙂 See you tomorrow.
Oh wow! These trees are signs of hope and starting all over again and all of that. What a great story, there.
Thank you so much for bringing these trees to us, Esha.
Yes, the trees are truly a sign of hope and positivity, Divya. Not just for the people of Japan but for all of humanity! Thanks so much for swinging by, Divya. Have a lovely week ahead.
What a beautiful story, Esha, of hope in a broken and ruined city. And a reminder of the resilience of nature and our fragile human hearts, too.
Lovely post. I didn’t know the stories of the trees. But I don’t think you can go there and fail to find it emotional. Or inspirational, really. Which is the point of your post, of course.
Positivism takes us far, the only way forward.
This would be an emotional visit for me, for many reasons. One of them – a long time karate dojo owner in our area, under whose senseis my son took his first karate lessons from, was a survivor of the bombing. I think he was only four. It shaped his entire life.
A very moving place. I have visited this spot and it is indeed amazing how any life could have survived. But it has which is an ode to the people.