Dahlia Dreams

I’ve been wanting to go to the Flower Dome for a few weeks but hubby said that it wasn’t the wisest thing to do. Since the outbreak of Covid 19, more people have been staying home and away from places of interest. And so I thought - the more I should visit those places! Just as I had guessed, the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest were relatively empty. We were probably the few Singaporeans around! There were still some tourists but totally unlike the usual crowd. I didn’t have to jostle for space to get decent pictures! 

So finally, we got our chance to see the flowers and displays at Dahlia Dreams. Looking at the gorgeous blooms was a reminder for me as to how Perfect and Magnificent our Lord is. If not, how could He have created and designed such beautiful flowers with perfectly-ordered petals? SubhanAllah. 

One of my Teachers said, “Observe the creation of Allah ﷻ. The mushaf is the Quran that speaks to us (to be read regularly). Rasulullah ‎ﷺ is the walking/living Quran (learn from his mannerism, guidance etc). Nature is the silent Quran (look at nature and read it). Nature resonates with the knowledge of Allah ﷻ.”

القرآن قرآن ناطق
الرسول ﷺ قرآن ماش
العالم قرآن صامت

Since the crowd was manageable, I thought we might as well head to Cloud Forest. It’s been ages! When we entered, we were greeted by the really cool air in the observatory, plus the waterfall! For a few minutes, we had the waterfall to ourselves and that has never happened since the opening of Cloud Forest. Goes to show how much emptier the place was. 

We entered at the exact time when the mist started throughout Cloud Forest and it was surreal. I was enthralled by the fairy-tale feeling of the place while the girls were just excited to wet their hands with the mist. 

We loved everything and I would have taken more pictures if I had remembered to fully charge my phone before heading to Gardens by the Bay. But I had not so I could only take a few. That just meant that we would have to go there again soon inshaa Allah. 

For urbanites like me, running to a man-made forest or artificial garden is a little respite from the urban jungle that we live in. Never mind that it’s an unnatural environment. But it’s essence, the very plants that grow there, are natural. And being amongst them brings joy to my soul, as it reminds me of times when we had hiked through real forests filled with ferns or giant redwoods that were thousands of years old. Or the times we had stood in actual fields filled with flowers or stood by rivers filled with gushing waters. 

The soul always remembers such beauty of nature, because it reminds the soul of the time when it was in the presence of The Owner of Beauty, Allah ﷻ. And till the time comes again, the soul will continuously be missing and searching, and wayfaring its way back to its Lord, the Lord of the Worlds. 

And may our return to Him be a beautiful one. Aameen.