“As a bee without harming the flower, its colour or scent, flies away collecting only the honey, even so
should the wise move through the world.”
— Dhammapada, Verse 49. A bee feeds among the vivid red bracts of the Double Chaconia, the bold and
unmistakable national flower of Trinidad and Tobago. The bee gathers nectar with precision and care,
from a flower without causing harm, echoing teachings by Buddha. It is an act of balance; receiving
without diminishing. The photograph reflects on the relationship between people and place. The Chaconia
represents what is shared and inherited; the bee, what is needed to live. The image asks a quiet question:
How do we take from the land, from culture, from identity—without eroding the very thing that sustains us?
How do we engage with what is ours, not as owners, but as participants in a living system?