Description
The lush pink bloom of the Sacred Lotus rises above a muddy lake. Auspicious koi fish circle around.
Lotus Message:
- Live like the Lotus.
- No Mud, no Lotus.
- Stay wild, Moonchild.
- I’m becoming myself.
- You’re becoming yourself.
- Life has many petals.
- You have to grow through mud to reach full bloom.
Likely the most spiritual flower on Earth, the history and meaning of the lotus flower dates back thousands of years. An important symbol in many different cultures, particularly Buddhism, the sacred lotus flower is revered as a symbol of rebirth, purity, self-regeneration and spiritual enlightenment.
No Mud, No Lotus: 3 Things the Lotus Teaches Us about Recovery
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- The Lotus blooms and flourishes amongst impurities.
- The Lotus doesn’t look back.
- The Lotus represents something new.
- We too have the ability to rise from the mud, bloom out of the darkness and radiate into the world.
- Seeing the mud around a lotus is pessimism, seeing a lotus in the mud is optimism.
Japanese “Time of the Lotus” Festival
Across Japan, in lakes and tubs, ponds and paddyfields, the massive buds of the lotus flower will open in the dawn. From Ueno Park in downtown Tokyo to the remotest rural fastness, lotus-viewing festivals will take place, turning a flower show into a mass spectator sport during what is known as the Time of the Lotus. Already fixtures in the Japanese diet, lotus rhizomes and seeds will be devoured in even greater quantities than usual; rice wine will be poured onto the plate-like leaves and their hollow stalks stuck between the lips to act as metre-long drinking straws. In season, a vast harvest of flowers and leaves will bring the sacred lotus into millions of homes.
Sacred Lotus motif:
It is the world’s most famous flower. It furnished Hinduism, Buddhism and numerous extinct religions with symbols of the mother goddess and reincarnation and lessons in ideal conduct. Its flowers, fruit and foliage proliferated in some of the greatest religious artworks of all time.
The British grew lotus in conservatories. They bought wallpaper, fabrics and objets d’art inspired by the sacred lotus. They devoured books and articles on the flower. Today we are more likely to see lotus tattoos.
See also: Flowering Pink Jacaranda.
