I love the story of the lotus flower. How it is rooted underwater in the mud and grows towards the light until it reaches the surface to bloom.

The past year has brought so much mud. Dark. Sticky. Crippling.

The thing about mud is we often think if we simply run really quickly, we can get through it. The truth of it, is once we’re stuck, we begin to struggle. And the more we struggle, the more stuck we become. The vicious cycle is created.

We forget that the mud is necessary. In getting stuck, we learn to extend grace and how to empathize with others, mercy. The dark days of frustration, sadness, anger, rejection, fear, and anxiety have within them the ability to teach us. If we can stay the journey towards the light.

Each of us has, within ourselves, light. Beauty. Purpose. Empowerment. Some days it is overcast by the darkness of the mud around us, but it is there. Waiting to reach the surface.

The mud reminds us that we have overcome. We’ve survived. That our journey is not yet finished. And even when we reach our destination and bloom, the mud remains. Those times of dark and sticky having kept us grounded in grace, compassion, and growth.

The picture below was a birthday gift from one of my children. My heart sang to see that the specialness of the lotus story has touched him also. He apologized for not filling it with color. I kind of prefer it like this. Open to all the possibilities.