Often when I visited India, I happened to come at a time when a radiant lotus unfurls its blossoms and lifts its face to the sunlight for a few days. My hosts, amused, have come to name the beautiful flower 'Catherine's lilies.' When I lamented the fact over a cup of chai* that I longed for a picture of the lotus, but had not taken any, I did not think for a moment that anyone really listened to what I was saying. I went off back home to Ireland, and thought no more about it.
Nearly a year later, a photo dropped into my email box with a note; 'Catherine's lilies for Catherine.' My host had heard what I said; the flowers had finished blooming. So my host waited until the next season for the notoriously shy flower to blossom and had taken the picture for me. I was absolutely thrilled, and the exquisite picture is one of my favourites. That was the day I realised how a beautiful picture taken with thoughtfulness and grace can truly uplift the day.
Each human being - from whatever culture, part of the global village, and personal way of life - is another beautiful creation from the Hands of God. We are each, in effect, a beautiful creation in the universe. Just like this exquisite lotus, we too, draw our strength from the clay and ground from which we eat our fruit and food, and to which we return in the recycling of Nature once we no longer need our earthly vehicle when our spirit moves to the next dimension to be with our God, our Creator.
Each one of us, deep inside our hearts and spirits, is shy and longing for love. Many are the hurts and disappointments that come our way, and sometimes the blossom of joy and love in our hearts is killed for the lack of water of compassion and love. Nevertheless, each of us is still the creation of God - a beautiful lotus which is waiting for just the right climate, just the right time, to flower into the full creation and personality God intended us to be.
Let us each be a Lotus of God - unafraid to show our face to the world, knowing that as a creation of God we have as much right to be here as the star, the ground, and the seeds that shower through the air to prepare the plants for the food for our earthly sustenance.
Let us, too, not hurt the face of another person by using words of ridicule; judgement; insult; rejection or harshness. Let us follow the golden rule that all religions follow
Nearly a year later, a photo dropped into my email box with a note; 'Catherine's lilies for Catherine.' My host had heard what I said; the flowers had finished blooming. So my host waited until the next season for the notoriously shy flower to blossom and had taken the picture for me. I was absolutely thrilled, and the exquisite picture is one of my favourites. That was the day I realised how a beautiful picture taken with thoughtfulness and grace can truly uplift the day.
The Lotus of God
It is a bright day
and I shyly look out
I know I am so beautiful
But my feet are wet, deep in the mud
Will I be accepted?
Will my background of mud from
which I draw my strength
be laughed at? I am a lotus
a lotus of God
made by the Hands of my Creator
Today I open my face...
Oh, will I be accepted...?
Each human being - from whatever culture, part of the global village, and personal way of life - is another beautiful creation from the Hands of God. We are each, in effect, a beautiful creation in the universe. Just like this exquisite lotus, we too, draw our strength from the clay and ground from which we eat our fruit and food, and to which we return in the recycling of Nature once we no longer need our earthly vehicle when our spirit moves to the next dimension to be with our God, our Creator.
Each one of us, deep inside our hearts and spirits, is shy and longing for love. Many are the hurts and disappointments that come our way, and sometimes the blossom of joy and love in our hearts is killed for the lack of water of compassion and love. Nevertheless, each of us is still the creation of God - a beautiful lotus which is waiting for just the right climate, just the right time, to flower into the full creation and personality God intended us to be.
Let us each be a Lotus of God - unafraid to show our face to the world, knowing that as a creation of God we have as much right to be here as the star, the ground, and the seeds that shower through the air to prepare the plants for the food for our earthly sustenance.
Let us, too, not hurt the face of another person by using words of ridicule; judgement; insult; rejection or harshness. Let us follow the golden rule that all religions follow
And so beautifully expressed in the words of the wonderful Jesus Christ,
'Do unto others as you would have done unto you,'
and
'Do unto others as you would have done unto you,'
and
'Love one another as I have loved you.'
*Tea
*The Bible, New Testament, The Gospel of John, Chapter 15, verse 12
*The Bible, New Testament, The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 7, verse 12
*Please feel free to use the photographs in this gallery copyright free for any educational or spiritual purpose
*Tea
*The Bible, New Testament, The Gospel of John, Chapter 15, verse 12
*The Bible, New Testament, The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 7, verse 12
*Please feel free to use the photographs in this gallery copyright free for any educational or spiritual purpose
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