Flower of Light
All life is important.
Butterflies, bees, spiders, caterpillars,
and all other insects
are incredibly important
for life on Earth.
Thanks to farmers, we have food to eat.
Farmers all over the world
work from early morning
until late at night
so that we have food on our tables.
The Flower of Light
The lotus flower is a symbol of
rebirth and fertility.
It blooms under the sun and represents
fire, water, and the spirit.
Life on Earth is in danger.
All over the world, rainforests are being cut down,
oceans are being overfished, and life is threatened.
The air, water, and land are polluted.
This must change, and it can only happen
if you see how beautiful and unique
all life on Earth is.
Love for life.
In spring,
animals and birds have their young,
caring for them with complete devotion.
My name is Manna (Marten Sale Brouwer).
I come from the Netherlands and have lived in Osaka, Japan, since 2010.
For 25 years, I have been creating origami, and I now have over 4,000 original designs.
The first designs I learned to make were the crane, the star, and the lotus flower.
Through these, I began to think more about peace, the universe, and nature.
All life is important.
Butterflies, bees, spiders, caterpillars,
and all other insects
are incredibly important
for life on Earth.
The Crane
The crane is considered a bringer of good fortune
and a symbol of a long, healthy life.
Crane couples stay together for life and can form large groups.
Since ancient times, it has been regarded as a sacred animal,
“heavenly birds, messengers of wisdom.”
When you fold a crane and give it to someone,
you wish them love, peace, and health.
The Lotus Flower
The lotus is the flower of light.
It opens at sunrise and closes again in the evening.
It blooms through the sun and symbolizes the spirit, matter, fire, and water—
the origin of all that is.
The lotus stands for rebirth, eternal return, creation, fertility, renewal, and immortality.
It emerges in all its beauty from muddy, dark depths
and is seen as a symbol of humanity’s potential to rise from imperfection
to the purity of divine status.
The Star
The star symbolizes the divine,
eternity, light in the darkness, and hope for humanity.
When you look at the night sky, you see countless stars.
Consider that there are more stars than grains of sand on all of Earth.
The sun is also a star, giving us light and warmth.
The grass, flowers, trees, fish in the sea,
animals and people on land, and birds in the sky
all live thanks to the sun.
Time for change.
Nature has a great capacity for recovery.
If we live more consciously and take better care
of ourselves, each other, and nature,
we can live in prosperity.
Coming into bloom
A seed in healthy soil,
with water, light, and time to grow,
will come into bloom.
Why I made this booklet.
I created this origami lotus booklet
to show you how extraordinary
nature and life are.
We cannot leave the Earth.
The Earth is incredibly, incredibly, incredibly important.
It gives us oxygen, water, and food.
That is everything we need
to live.
If you want the world to change for the better.
If you want wars to stop, start in your own life.
Help each other, support each other, make friends. Life is short.
The only thing you can control is your own life.
You have to make something of it yourself.
Do you have a dream? Chase it with everything you have.
I wish you love, peace, and health.
Manna Ori (Marten Sale Brouwer)