The Lotus and Me

The round green lily pad leaves begin to push up and unfurl from the depths of water in the spring. Beginning to cover the top of my pond, they will help to hide the 30 fish from the great blue heron’s keen eyes. The surface water had frozen over during winter’s cold, the fish in torpor mode below. Apparently, the plants survive the chill, and strive to survive, too. In July, the lily pads unfold and lie gently atop the water, covering the pond’s surface.

One morning, to my surprise, a pure white lotus appeared among the leaves! It had found space between the pads, pushed through to spread its petals, revealing its pale yellow center. Opened so wide and beautiful!

From the depths of the water, the almond-shaped lotus bulb, at the tip of green stem, unseen until it blooms, reaches upward, upward, through the water and between some leaves.

When reaching the air, the bulb expands into a lotus, perched on the surface. Its white contrast against dark green leaves stuns the eye into wonder. How that bloom is us! When surrounded by water or chaos, don’t we strive to push through to the surface, to bloom into who we are called to be? We push through the forces of rejection, name-calling, tragedy, straining to tell the world “I am here! I am me!” When we reach our fullness, we can rest gently in the open, bringing beauty and awe to the eyes. Be who you are called to be, and let the world behold you! Ponder a while on the lesson of the lotus flower. How beautiful if we accept the gift of who we are!

Bloom together today.