Lotus mirrors

Pink Lotus in Bloom, by @MaggieHongKong

One of my most cherished discoveries is to observe, take in the space I travel to and rejoice suddenly in the most profound way at a simplest cue. There is somewhere this insight waiting for me to connect to. Almost like an elixir.

Some call it a revelation and it has undoubtedly its value as well.

Visiting now few times in a row a magnificent monastery in Hong Kong, the home to the goddess of compassion, Guan Yin. I kept absorbing so much beauty, serenity, wisdom, the mysteries of energy movement, meditation downtimes and connecting also with opening hearts just like mine.

Being there in itself, you get summoned to dive in. I did not follow this path in my first visit. And neither in my second or third. I had to come back with an open eye of a visitor, and simply follow a treasure map in order to connect. This simple guidance works well for kids, and works well for adults too. I remembered suddenly that I loved the orientation competitions as a kid. The funny part that I have failed and lost too, as I was simply in awe with nature and finding new things to look at rather than focusing sharply to reach from one cue to another. My own pace took over. I do believe that all the kids on the team were the same - attending such a competition for the first time without much training was quirky yet set up for remaining behind. I wish I had someone taking my photo when I was handed over a compass. A compass! Do I have to check on every step and align again and again. What a vivid memory I got back from that trip. I had this knack for signing up for any competition - on very different topics (except the one involving musical instruments) - and this is the kid I always cherish most. I do not remember to feel deterred by how prepared was anyone else. My teachers infused me with a strange sense of confidence that I can just do it. It was always the spirit of the game and being in a team that was fascinating me I believe. I just said “Yes”. And I have to tell you, I do not remember much of any trophies earned. I would need to reconnect with some older teammates who might have that answer for me. It was never about winning .My confidence was there and I was just saying “I want to try it”.

A longer side story than expected, here we are all taking a little detour ….Think of this as a prompt as this is now the buzz word and common denominator in many many worlds I follow. AI world, writing world, workshops world, brainstorming world…. Something has to prompt us.

And here I am, back to the magnificent monastery trying to retain on camera the beauty of their flora. Bondi trees, frangipani, and so many others I would not possible know and of course, a lotus pond.

The blooming of a lotus, the lotus that is about to bloom, the roots and interconnected web underneath the water surface.

There is a calling, there is a whisper in the gorgeous flowers that look so fragile and still.

There was my calling to get closer and just observe at first. I stopped taking photos on a reflex clicks basis and I looked.

I talked to the lotus blooms. They reminded me of the roses back home, that surprise us each year with so many nuances of pastel or bright colours.

So here I am like a mesmerised friend talking to these gems smiling in pinks, yellows, white and light purples.

There is much beauty also in knowing that we cannot just take them. And add them as a conquest in a vase. I did try once. A massive rejection ensued. And I have felt this pain of misusing the flowers. Luckily, it was not me who cut them, yet, I have noticed right away that they were rejecting the environment. One day ready to open and straight in their posture. They did open a bit more at the risk of bending down, looking for them to find a pond that I just could not understand to offer it at that time.

“Smell the rose… it is divine” , by MaggieHongKong

Since we brought this up and loving to offer credits to all the artists who have been so kindly generous to me along the years please also take this moment to visit his website and learn more about this Turkish prolific artist. Also on instagram under the handle @gurbuz.de

Gurbuz Dogan Eksioglu

I am passing here the responsibility to master Thich Nhat Than to bring us back to the lotus blooms in his guidances on meditating with what we have.

In touch with the flower, I breath in.

In touch with the scent and beauty

Of the glowers,I breathe out.

In touch with the sun in the flower,

I breathe in.

Knowing that without the sun there

Would be no flower, I breathe out.

There is this association most probably in many of us with the saying “ no mud, no bloom”. And the fascinating encounter for me that particular day, was not in going deep down to find the roots in the mud, but I was called in a particular way by the differences in the lotus blooming from the inside of the pond. The mirrors of each and every flower there.

You could see the brightened one blooming in the air, above the leafs, and here there was, her partner. Equally beautiful, yet a bit darkened at the edges, trembling with the water and changing or moving with the environment underneath the water. The pond was indeed very still at that time, yet some breeze will come from time to team and make a bit of a tiny wave across the pond. This is most probably how I have noticed the shadow. The “upside-down”cup of this lotus. A beautiful hourglass. A strong lotus ikebana, right there, in its own nurturing environment.

Mirror Lotus Bloom by @MaggieHongKong

Catching this moment made my heart open.

Catching this reflection made me suddenly connected to where I am.

Connected to here and now.

This search for what is the best environment to flourish was receiving such a powerful nod from this hourglass of a lotus bloom.

I seek a reflection. I seek a mirroring of beauty. I seek the pond that offers this reflective space.

At times,we can see how beautiful the people in front of us are just through a simple observations. The more we spend time with them, the more we listen, we then start seeing through the waters. We start getting a glimpse at the shadow too. How does that stands out. How is the light, how are the reverberations of the water present this echo to us? We wonder and we accept.

This is what is wholesome in front of us. Not by adding a negative connotation to the shadow and that mirror. On the contrary, by getting the opposites together we can connect to a very humanistic level of knowing that they are the same. With the same search for joy, the same intense deep dive in feeling better at times. With a desire to always shine in the sun if there would be a flourishing environment to feed in all that.

My previous home did not have the soil ,the waters, the imaginary pond to create that environment. Because I felt I was sleeping. Because I felt I was numb. Because the mind set was growing through various roots and meddling blooms. There was a jungle of a mind set perhaps. Very good at heart, yet not knowing yet how to go through the meanders.

Here we are now, many years later, seeing through the roots, looking and facing both the blooming lotus while bowing with deep respect to the mirror, to its shadow.

Feeling that confidence again of the kid saying yes to the game of life.

Feeling the confidence that the environment is nourished from within and fosters this path where we can meet people to walk together on this journey.

Let us explore and find our pond of ever blooming lotus booms with all the pastel or bright colours together.

You are all welcome here, the pond says. Please keep coming back.

I will, I reply. I will.

Tsz Shan Monastery, Hong Kong