No Mud No Lotus
The lotus is an aquatic perennial plant that lives in flooded fields or ponds and returns to bloom year after year. It is aquatic in the sense that it requires an environment of water to grow. It is a perennial in the sense that it regrows year after year and its seeds can create flowers and beauty, even after hibernation. But the lotus is so much more than an aquatic perennial plant.
The lotus begins its life deep under water, in regions where the water is still on the surface. The lotus is planted in muddy waters, surrounded by muck, dirt, fish, and insects. As the lotus begins to grow, it pushes its way from the mud and mucky conditions that surround it, rising up with a strong stem through the waters to rise to the surface. Slowly, petal by petal, the lotus blooms. It blooms above the mud and muddy waters that surround it, untouched by the mud as its petals open in beauty towards the sunshine. The story of the lotus has become a symbol of re-birth, survival, and opportunity in many cultures.
The story of the lotus is also the story of people. Of being human. Some of us begin our lives surrounded by muddy waters, an environment that may not be loving or supportive. Others may find that as they move through life they experience mud and muck and dirt. The mud can drag us down, trapping us underneath the surface, in a cold and dark place.
As we begin to grow, however, we can push our way from the mud and mucky conditions and begin to grow, rising up through the muddy waters to rise to the surface. Our roots exist deep within the mud that we have grown from, but we grow towards the light and the surface. At the surface, above the mud, slowly, one achievement at a time, we bloom. We bloom above the mud and the shit that has surrounded us, letting the mud slide off of us, as we open in beauty towards the sunshine and the light. We are out of the darkness. We can bloom. We bloom, sitting on the surface, surrounded by still waters and bright light from the sun. We rise to our potential, expanding in beauty and transformation.
The story of the lotus is the story of being human. Without the mud, there is no lotus. Without the shit, there is no growth. Without the darkness, there is no light. Where there is mud, there is a lotus. Where there is the shit, there is growth. Where there is darkness, there is light. No mud, no lotus.
