Our Chinatown elders practiced kado, the Japanese way of flowers, with Mari Rose Taruc, who learned it from her Zen Buddhist teacher Norma Wong. They learned to balance heaven, earth, and humanity (天地人), and to practice the art of subtraction: letting go of what's extra and leaving space.

Each elder made at least two arrangements, and Mari Rose reflected back the energy she saw in each one. One elder shared: "It became a practice of clearing the mind and keeping only what is purest and most beautiful."