梅花

不怕難，不怕冷。


(In Chinese culture, plum trees are one of the 'three friends of winter' because their blossoms emerge even while there is still snow on the ground. The plum flower then, is a symbol of strength and resilience in the face of difficulty)

That's how they do it, those 梅花.. I am remembering now.
They emerge amid snows, but see and have faith in something farther off. Their trees have a vision of a better time that they prepare for. They do not feel just the winter around them, but the unseen spring crawling over the curve of the earth, which they know in their roots to be true. This does not prevent them from recognizing the winter, but they appreciate the winter in its larger context, and they anticipate beyond the horizon. They see something else coming, and are willing to endure to get a good start and meet it.