Lotus Land

In case you’ve never given it much thought, following is a description of the lotus flower growth cycle:

Lotus flowers grow from tuberous roots that are submerged in water. These roots anchor the plant in the mud at the bottom of bodies of water. The lotus plant then sends up long stems and leaves, which float on the water's surface and collect sunlight. Finally, the lotus flower blooms, emerging from the water on a stalk. 

This seems to be a perfect metaphor for personal development. There’s a saying, “no mud, no lotus, which means the beautiful flower can’t be without a stint in the mud. I find the knowledge of the lotus growing protocol strangely encouraging. It flips the script of trauma, tragedy, despair and feeling a victim of it all to feeling akin to the lotus growth cycle when a certain time under water and in the mud is part of how growth up and out leads to a beautiful bloom.

What does this mean for practical purposes? I see it as considering ourselves in Lotus Land. A metaphorical space where we can work out the difficulties life presents, sometimes on a near constant basis. A reminder that we may be down, but we’re not done. Perhaps it’s the place where we do the work that gets us to blossom. Where we get curious about how we got here, sit, sift, and work through the feelings of our experiences, shed what no longer serves us and cultivate new choices for how we want our life to be. Such a process sends us to float on the water’s surface to collect sunlight and grows us to emerge as a new self. One in better alignment for the life we deeply desire.

Rounding the corner to age 60 I’ve amassed a treasure chest of Lotus Land stories; some I’ll be sharing here. They’ll be honest, sprinkled with humor and sarcasm (we HAVE to laugh) and hopefully they’ll be helpful and healing in some way, as well as draw us together. I’ve long had a sense that I’m supposed to share stories, so you know you’re not alone, that you are seen.

 Girl, I am you. I see you. I love you.