{"id":1584,"date":"2025-05-11T01:41:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-11T05:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onlylove.art\/?p=1584"},"modified":"2026-01-08T18:55:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T22:55:02","slug":"tra-my-emmy-truong-the-constant-gardener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onlylove.art\/ja\/archives\/1584","title":{"rendered":"Tr\u00e0 My \u201cEmmy\u201d Truong: The Constant Gardener"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

INNER VISION<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With our five senses, we perceive only the tiniest sliver of the limitless whole of each person and situation. The joy of existence is learning to set aside the limiting perceptions of the ego and to instead use our inner sight to see the limitless, brilliant truth of who we and others really are. These articles are a practice in vision, in seeing as artists see. Seeing this way, without judgment, the world blooms, people bloom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This truth is reflected in the Sufi mystic and poet Rumi\u2019s words, \u201cYou are not a drop in the ocean; you are the entire ocean in a drop\u201d and echoed in the Hindu and Buddhist metaphor of Indra\u2019s Net, which visualizes the world as an infinite net with brilliant clear jewels at each node, each jewel reflecting all the others, creating a limitless web of interdependencies. We are each a reflection of the whole, the entirety of existence, and yet we are each transparent, empty. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LADY OF THE CAMELLIAS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I initially knew Emmy only as one of the friendly baristas at L\u00ea Phin<\/a>, the lovely little Vietnamese cafe in the East Village that I stop by nearly every day to work, meet people, and enjoy their exquisite pandan matcha lattes and coffees. One moment, the person seated across from me at their communal table is a fellow customer and stranger; the next, I learn he\/she\/they is an immigration lawyer or a literature professor or an artist, a wellspring of stories and inspiration, and, by the time our cups are empty, a friend. Encouraged by curiosity, they blossom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it was with Emmy. She appeared to me in full bloom. Literally. I don\u2019t usually see spiritual visions unless I invite them, but her aura seemed to appear to me of its own accord, lushly framing her with red petals. I thought this must be meaningful, but it wasn\u2019t until I told her this that I learned who she is and why her aura makes sense. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For one thing, Emmy\u2019s Vietnamese name, Tr\u00e0 My Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng, is taken from the Vietnamese word for camellia, c\u00e2y hoa tr\u00e0<\/i>. \u201cEmmy\u201d is a simplified name she chose for Americans, but it still honors her roots. \u201cMy\u201d comes from her first name, and \u201cEm\u201d is a sweet Vietnamese term of affection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ALL MY FAVORITE COLORS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As soon as we started talking, I realized she was intelligent, confident, and mature. She was actually a working artist dedicated to bringing more beauty into the world and chose to work at the cafe occasionally to learn more about the food\/hospitality industry. I checked her Instagram and website and found that I loved her artist eye, her color sense, and her approach to life and art. Maybe I simply share her sensibility, but I feel like her slightly muted color palette conveys the subtle complexities of the emotional tones of her subjects, suggesting the passage of time or the way that the strongest feelings lie under the surface and are thus not entirely visible. That nuance is more satisfying than something that is loud and simple, and it induces a sense of nostalgia or longing. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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