We often find ourselves drawn to certain shapes, forms, or motifs from nature for no apparent reason other than it literally calls to us. As art imitates life, the lotus flower, ripe with the symbolism of purity, enlightenment, self-regeneration and rebirth, has found its way into creative expression in all manner of ways and it is one of our favorites. These are a couple of lotus inspired items that caught our eye here and here.
In the midst of what our global community is experiencing, with widespread quarantine and social distancing due to a deathly pandemic that is taking countless lives daily, the lotus flower resonates more than ever for us. We read a great article in Town & Country, authored by Katie Robinson, a few years back that so aptly captured the meaning attributed to this gorgeous flower. The passage below speaks to the flower's symbolism of revival and resurrection and its stalwart drive to live and thrive no matter how arduous and inhospitable the circumstances:
"With its roots based in mud, it submerges every night into murky river water, and—undeterred by its dirty environment—it miraculously re-blooms the next morning without residue on its petals. The lotus flower's daily resurrection is certainly interesting, and surely symbolic of revival. But the flower also has a fascinating will to live. A lotus seed can withstand thousands of years without water, able to germinate over two centuries later....It continues to resurrect itself, coming back just as beautiful as it was last seen. With such refusal to accept defeat, it's almost impossible not to associate this flower with unwavering faith. Although cultures have largely dubbed the lotus as a spiritual figurehead, it is most emblematic of the faith within ourselves. It is particularly what the Buddhist proverb, aims to edify; living life with unwavering faith, as the lotus does, ensures the most beautiful revivals."
Our friend and Athens, GA based photographer Jason Thrasher took these gorgeous images while in France visiting Lotus Pond at Thick Nhất Hạn’s monastery several years ago. We love how Jason captured these lotus flowers in a state of transition, in dark waters--back in the days of black and white film--rather than in the typical brightly colored images of pink and white lotus blooms amidst a sea of green leaves floating on a pond. His images seem apropos of where many of us are on our own inner journey through all of this.
During these challenging times, we hope that you and yours are living with unwavering faith, no matter what or who that faith is based in, so that we can all emerge from these murky waters with a resilient spirit and a full blooming heart, much like Lotus Flower with Bee below, captured by our dear friend and photographer Ana Nance, on West Lake, Hangzhou, China.
