Hari
Om
'Freedays' are the 'gather our thoughts' days;
Q&As; a general review of the week so far…
There
are days, sometimes weeks or even years, in life when we feel the whole world
is against us. There is a sense that nothing goes right, that everything we
touch turns to mud and our self esteem plummets. Everyone experiences this at
some point or other.
The
difference between people, though, is how they deal with these times. Some have
a natural ability to stick their head out of the mud and see that the swamp
only stretches so far and as long as they keep plodding along, they will rise
above the slurry and nonsense sooner rather than later. Others surrender their power to the pull of
the mud and sink ever deeper into it.
The
lotus flower is the symbol given to Hinduism (and subsequently Buddhism) for
hope. It sets the example of how beauty can develop even from the grimiest
place. Its leaves have a resilience which makes water and muck run off them, no
sticking. The bud of the flower reaches up through all the darkness, high into
the air and opens to the light, showing a glory of colour and purity
unimaginable in such surroundings. The symbolism is that, whatever our
circumstances, we too can 'rise above'. We all have inner beauty and must never
forget this. It matters not where we are and what is happening to us, if we
have worked on our inner personality, we can remain beautiful and unaffected by
it. Indeed, by showing this beauty, even the murk around us begins to glow.
What
is more, the lotus plant, having not found better ground, adapted and utilised
the circumstances of its position to ensure maximum potential gained. This is
the request of Gurudev in the quote above. Yes, it got messy just now; but add
that to the compost of life and churn it into something useful, enhancing your
personality rather than twisting it.
You
can! You must!
