Have you ever wondered whether it’s okay to use fake flowers for a feng shui adjustment? I get this question a lot, so I wanted to share my perspective.

In feng shui, we say that fresh, living flowers can unstick things that are stuck. They also help to lift the qi and the mood in your space. Flowers are a really important part of my life — I’m actually an Ikebana flower arrangement practitioner. Ikebana is quite a deep practice that’s about mindfulness, and it’s really a kind of meditation in action in the Zen tradition.

My teachers have taught me that fake flowers don’t impart the same qi as real flowers because they are not alive. If you want to have fake flowers in your home, that’s okay, but you wouldn’t use them for feng shui.

I also want to challenge you to think about why you would want to substitute something artificial for something real, especially in this day and age. Right now, a lot of our shared in-person experiences are being reduced, and when we do meet, we’re using online platforms instead. When this is the case, why would you also want to substitute something as beautiful and impermanent as flowers with something artificial? Usually it’s because people want their flowers to last longer, they don’t want to have to worry about taking care of their flower arrangement, or they feel that fresh flowers are too expensive.

But the impermanence of flowers is really what creates their beauty, and there are so many teachings we can receive from flowers. How can we look at life and really appreciate things that are fragile and precious, and show age? Not wanting to look at these things is like not wanting to age or show wrinkles, but this is part of the human experience, and it makes our lives so precious and rich.

I encourage you to treat yourself to some real, fresh flowers! You deserve it.

by Anjie Cho