Divine Beauty

Day 56

“You must be a lotus, unfolding its petals when the sun rises in the sky, unaffected by the slush where it is born or even the water which sustains it!”

– Sai Baba

I was thinking about expanding on yesterday’s theme in today’s post. I wanted to talk a bit about staying positive and believing in yourself when faced with obstacles and setbacks on your path to achieving your goals. I thought it was peculiar that images of Lotus flowers kept floating through my mind but I figured there was a reason behind it, so I did a little digging. I knew that the Lotus represented divinity and prosperity, but the connection to my thoughts didn’t click until I came across a poem by Suzy Kassem while I was researching.

The Lotus is thought to be Divine or representing the Divine in many cultures and religions. The flower is symbolic of purity, enlightenment, rebirth, self-regeneration, beauty, majesty, grace, fertility, wealth, richness, knowledge and serenity.

For Egyptians it is a symbol of creation and rebirth. In Buddhism it is associated with purity, spiritual awakening and faithfulness. In Hinduism, it is associated with beauty, fertility, prosperity, spirituality, and eternity. The Lotus represents the seventh chakra – the state of consciousness. It is said that awakening the seventh chakra arouses a state of pure consciousness, where ultimate peace and joy are attained.

Joy. No wonder I thought of the Lotus flower today.

The Lotus starts growing at the bottom of muddy, murky waters, and slowly emerges toward the surface, bursting out of the water into a beautiful blossom. At night, it closes and sinks under the water, and emerges again with the sunlight of a new day, remaining completely unstained by the mud from which it comes.

Unstained. Don’t let obstacles stop you; stay positive and keep moving towards your goals.

Remember The Lotus Flower

Great people will always be mocked by those
Who feel smaller than them.
A lion does not flinch at laughter coming from a hyena.
A gorilla does not budge from a banana thrown at it by a monkey.
A nightingale does not stop singing its beautiful song
At the intrusion of an annoying woodpecker.
Whenever you should doubt your self-worth, remember the lotus flower.
Even though it plunges to life from beneath the mud,
It does not allow the dirt that surrounds it
To affect its growth or beauty.
Be that lotus flower always.
Do not allow any negativity or ugliness
In your surroundings,
Destroy your confidence,
Affect your growth,
Or make you question your self-worth.
It is very normal for one ugly weed
To not want to stand alone.
Remember this always.
If you were ugly,
Or just as small as they feel they are,
Then they would not feel so bitter and envious
Each and every time they are forced
To glance up at magnificently
Divine YOU.