Flowers have such significance in our lives. They are given to share joy, to share love, in remembrance, and to soothe grief. They are treasured for the delicate beauty they bring to our eyes, our nose, and our hearts.
One flower in particular can be very beautiful, especially when we consider where it starts. The Lotus flower starts tightly surrounded by mud and under water. The lotus grows from the mud, and through the mirky water that surrounds it to bloom above the water, seemingly unaffected by the difficult and unpleasant conditions that surrounded it, and that it is still rooted to. Right now many of us might feel like we are surrounded by mud, that we are trapped under the water. Surrounded by the seeds of fear and anxiety. Trapped by conditions outside of our control, and literally stuck in the places we find ourselves.
The Lotus reminds us that we can blossom, even in the presence of difficulty in our lives. Our choice, each day, each moment, and each breath is which seed we chose to plant. Will it be the seeds of happiness, joy, and love, or the seeds of anger, fear, or suffering? It is up to us to choose the seeds that bring us peace, and then to nuture those seeds in a way to help them bloom and become beautiful flowers even in the presence of all the mud in our lives. Then we can pass these seeds to others. We can plant the seeds of happiness, peace, and love in everyone we meet. When I smile to you, I pass you the seeds of my Joy. Right now it is easy to focus on all the "mud" that is around us. To feel stuck in that mud, to feel trapped and scared by what surrounds us today.
Take a moment to stop and simply breathe. We can even make our own lotus bud with our hands, bringing it to our heart, or to our forehead, breathing in we can say to ourselves “from the mud”, breathing out we can say “comes the flower”.
When we see our friends, or pass someone new right now we cannot get too close, we cannot shake hands to show our kindness, but maybe we can make our lotus. Bowing slightly breathing in we say "a flower from me, to the beauty in you." Flowers can bring so much joy. Today is a perfect day to plant some beautiful seeds in the mud around us, to cultivate those seeds into the flowers of joy, and to pass them to everyone we meet.
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