This lotus flower I captured in a photograph from my kayak in an Adirondack Mountain lake in New York speaks to me of how much we grow and even thrive through challenging times.
Are you facing a painful or challenging time in your life? Sometimes those dark moments feel as if they will last forever and that we will never emerge on the other side. As we face those painful circumstances and emotions we are unknowingly growing and strengthening through the tears, the pain and the feelings of emptiness. These experiences cause us to go deeper inside of ourselves and to tap into the true center of our being. This is the core of who you are, the very essence of your soul. The deeper we go, the better we know ourselves and the more capable we become in seeking the light.
The lotus is a flower that grows from the darkest and thickest mud. It begins in the dark depths under the murky water deep in the mud. As it begins to make its journey to the surface, it must persist through the mud and murky darkness. Slowly as it grows some light becomes visible from the surface and it grows through the water toward the light. When it breaks to the surface, the flower is pure, clean, and pristine. It is strong, and beautiful beyond words. The lotus is strong and beautiful BECAUSE of the mud and darkness that it had to make its way through. This truly speaks to the strength of the human soul and spirit.
Our own resilience, strength, realization and spiritual becoming are also all the sweeter, stronger and more beautiful because of the difficulties we've grown through rather than in spite of them.. It is sometimes through the deepest mud and the murkiest water and most difficult circumstances of life that we become who we are meant to be and the greatest beauty blooms. đđ