Lessons from a lotus

I woke up this morning thinking of lotus flowers. Perhaps it is because of all the photos of them my friend in Vietnam has been sending me lately or maybe the tattoo on my arm that I see every day. For whatever reason, I sat and thought about the symbolism of them after my morning meditation.

The lotus flower is one of my favorite symbols of the challenges of life. In many cultures and traditions it is seen as a symbol of purity, rebirth, and overcoming obstacles. I often find beauty in how nature can teach us. In essence, we are nature. So it is no surprise when we can find such beautiful examples of how to live by studying nature. If you know me, you know I have a bit of an obsession with flowers.

If you are hiking with me, you will simply have to deal with the fact that I will stop and take a photo of every flower I see. Also every bug, fungus and moss. Truth be told, I have turned into a bit of a slow hiker these days because of all the magic I find and I will not apologize. But let us return to flowers. I have learned many lessons from these simple and beautiful blooms over the years but the lotus flower has always been a favorite of mine.

Ever since I learned what it represents in Buddhist cultures, I felt deeply connected to it. If you have seen a lotus flower, you know how magical and beautiful they are. But the real beauty is in how they grow. The lotus plant is found in aquatic and often muddy environments, in mostly tropical areas. The seeds of the plant can survive for weeks to months prior to finding a suitable environment to germinate and begin to grow. The plants love water and most often are found growing in ponds or muddy river banks.

As the plant grows upward towards the sun, the buds of the flowers break the waters surface. The flowers will rise up above the water and bloom during the day, only to retreat back into the water at night. Even when the flowers come from the muddiest of waters, they rise pristine. As if by magic, this pure and incredibly beautiful object arises from the murky and muddy depths. This is why they are symbols of purity and rebirth. They speak to this idea that we are all capable of making it through messy and murky times in our lives and rising above into beautiful blossoms.

The mud that sustains the lotus flower does not impair or minimize the magic it holds. Similarly, the mess and hardships we as humans must travel through do not blemish our being. We are capable of rising out of the challenging situations more beautiful than ever. We do not have to walk around caked in mud for the rest of our lives because of where we once were. In a sense, this speaks to allowing ourselves to move through challenging moments without identifying and holding them too closely.

Sometimes we have a belief that the challenging journeys we survive are the only thing that give us strength. If we remove the mud and forget about the struggle we endured, we will not be as strong or worthy. The lotus flower teaches us a different way to move through the mud; Leave the mud where it is and allow yourself to rise up into the perfect bloom you were designed to become. It knows the mud is as necessary as any part of its environment. But for the pollinators to be attracted to the blooms, they must be bright and clean, not caked with filth and mud.

If the bloom held onto the mud, it may not be able to break the surface of the water. Mud is heavy, especially when fresh. It would serve no one if the bloom did this. Often we hold ourselves back from this beautiful rebirth that is possible because we get so stuck in our own mud. We lose the fact that we are this magical, beautiful, fragrant bloom beneath the mud, no matter what we have to travel through.

The mud is never what defines us, it is always the flower. The strength the lotus has to know this is immeasurable. The flower knows that the mud is necessary to sustain its roots, to allow it to have the stability to grow upward. Yet it also knows that it is destined to bloom without a single speck of mud visible on its petals. It can value the mud and also value the flower. Both are necessary in life, never one more important than the other. It is a beautiful reminder that pain or mud will always be part of life. It is often there to help us grow into what we are destined to be.

The full lesson of the lotus flower is this. Often the most beautiful things can come from the darkest of places. It is important to remember there are seasons of growth that will look different, sometimes it is all about the mud and roots and other times its all about the pure blossoms. No lotus benefits by carrying the mud to places that will not serve its survival. It knows to leave the mud where it is and rise above. And lastly, no matter how small of a seed, or how long it takes to germinate, there is always a magical bloom within.