A lotus blossom really is beautiful! This particular morning at the water lily garden of our local botanical gardens, I was struck seeing a single lotus blossom lit up by a shaft of sunlight! It was stunning! The sun just illuminated the flower in soft, white light. It glowed with a hint of pink while dressed in its surrounding lily pads like a dancer with ornate fans. I love photographing lotus blooms.
Lotus plants need murky, muddy water to grow up healthy. Some might say the water is kind of ugly and undesirable. However, without the thick, nutrient rich mud, a lotus plant can’t thrive and produce beautiful flowers. A Buddhist monk named Thich Nhat Hanh once said,
“NO MUD, NO LOTUS Both suffering and happiness are of an organic nature, which means they are both transitory; they are always changing. The flower, when it wilts, becomes the compost. The compost can help grow a flower again. Happiness is also organic and impermanent by nature. It can become suffering and suffering can become happiness again.”
― Thích Nhất Hạnh, No Mud, No Lotus: The Art of Transforming Suffering
Now, my personal theology might say things a bit differently. However, it still stands that great beauty comes from seemingly ugly and undesirable beginnings. Do you have some murky circumstances in your life? We all know friends with pain in their lives. I’m not saying everything is going to turn up roses. But I prefer hope that beauty can come from sorrowful beginnings. May your current pains give way to beauty beyond your wildest dreams!
Open your eyes to see the wonders all around you!
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