Lotus - The beautiful flower that blooms under adversity

“The lotus is the most beautiful flower, whose petals open one by one. But it will only grow in the mud. In order to grow and gain wisdom, first you must have the mud — the obstacles of life and its suffering. … The mud speaks of the common ground that humans share, no matter what our stations in life. … Whether we have it all or we have nothing, we are all faced with the same obstacles: sadness, loss, illness, dying and death. If we are to strive as human beings to gain more wisdom, more kindness and more compassion, we must have the intention to grow as a lotus and open each petal one by one. ” 
― Goldie Hawn

If one is open and ready to understand what life is, we can all imagine that our life starts just as a bud of a lotus, all eager to sprout out of the water and to receive the sunshine. Learning to understand that living in the mud is like the real world around us, it can be murky and allowing no one to see clearly and to set directions, to know what is right and what is wrong. 

In nature, everyone has the strength like that of a lotus stem, one can push aside all the dirts and obstacles to rise above the water to feel the sunshine. Then the flower bud will start to bloom and take in clean air, freeing oneself from the harsh conditions beneath the murky water.

Looking at the lotus ecological cycle, one can learn that one may be born into dark, unguided and dubious conditions, for as long as there are strengths to  resist adversity, living positively, knowing that the same murky water actually cleanse the flowers as it emerge from the water, it signifies that one can actually become as radiant as the lotus someday.

Knowing that lotus open each petal one by one, you will not  find any stains or mud within the inner flower heart,  just like anyone of us, who, if we are able to peel every layer of our greeds, angst,  anger, and anguish, we will permeates our real inner self.

Now about the learning how to draw Lotus Flowers, here are some of my paintings:

My first attempt

我们都可以想像，我们的人生只是作为一个芽的莲花，都渴望萌芽出来的水，并接受阳光。学习明白，生活在泥就像是我们周围的现实世界中，它可以是黑暗的，没有人清楚地看到，设置方向，知道什么是对，什么是错的。

在自然界中，每个人都有这样的实力，如莲花茎，推开所有的污垢在往水面上升，感受阳光。花蕾开始绽放，在清洁空气中，从阴暗和恶劣条件下的解脱。

向莲花生态循环借鉴，人也能在可疑的情况下，只要有优势，抵御逆境，积极生活，也能如同阴暗的水中绽放出真正洁净的花朵，因为它出现从水面上，它标志着一个实际上可以成为光荣的莲花哪天

知道莲花逐一打开每个花瓣，你不会找到任何污渍或泥内内花的心，我们只是像其他人，谁，如果我们能够剥离每一层人们的贪欲，焦虑，愤怒和痛苦，我们将渗透到我们真正的内心的自我。