Snakes, despite their pretty appearances, are often attached to negative connotations. But in various stories and mythologies, snakes are also guardians. Their flexible shape allows them to shift on a whim, or twist into an ouroboros, symbolizing the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Their cool-eyed wisdom tells us to find the balance within this ever-changing world.

The Lunar New Year is the time for new beginnings, and new choices. Every day, we navigate between dichotomies: witnessing authoritative systems walk the line between exercising power and exerting fear, asking ourselves if the risk and reward is worth our action. Striking a balance can be a compromise, where we are flexible to other ideas. When what is different is embraced and celebrated, diversity blooms. The snake is a creature of fluidity; what might appear as a straight line can also form a circle, reminding ourselves that we can never have one without the other.

During the Lunar New Year, we often wish for good things to come: prosperity and luck. Well-wishes, however, rarely come true without putting in good effort. To reflect on the spirit of the Snake, we must strive for a balance between giving and receiving.

Let us think outside the garden, and see beyond the surface. Let us become more than what preconceived notions have decided we shall be. In the Year of the Snake, we are practising fluidity in diversity!