This morning, I was grabbed by the arm at my Buddhist temple and dragged into the foggy early morning. “It happened!” the woman who pulled me exclaimed. It was 7:30am and while I’m a morning person, I was not really ready for whatever had happened quite yet. My tea was barely a third of the way empty, I was a little cold, but then I saw what had happened. The lotus flower that sat expectantly in a bud for what seemed like an eternity had fully unfurled at last. I stood in front of it, beaming. Every bit of my body woke up as I looked into the face of this brilliant pink bloom. It is just a flower, but it is so much more than a flower.
Lotus flowers are symbolic because they both seed and bloom at the same time. They represent the simultaneity of Cause and Effect. In essence, lotus flowers are a live demo of our karma in action. At the same time that we are living out the effects from our past actions we are creating effects that make the future. You don’t need to be a Buddhist to believe in karma. Karma is a universal principle most can agree with: you reap what you sow in life. Buddhism takes it to the next level, explaining how we accumulate karma over lifetimes and we aren’t just living out the results of things we did in this lifetime. It a wildly profound philosophy. But this fuchsia flower that unfolded makes it enormously simple and available to anyone : every day we have a chance to create a new future and make good on the things we are not proud of in the past.
Thoughts, words and actions create karma. The more you can start with love, the more you can be present and kind to yourself, the more you can give, the more joy you get. The more of everything good you get. It really works when your intention is pure: being kind and generous because it feels good. And, it really does!
Needless to say, it really did happen today! The flower bloomed. It’s time to look at cause and effect, to figure out how to give more, to be more present, to truly be mindful of the effect I have on others… to be the best version of me I can be. That said, how can I help you guys more? Anything you want to see more of, hear more about, learn from experts or experience that I can in some way facilitate please let me know. That’s why I do this, after all! xoxo Dana
Great post Dana! Something I’d like to hear personal feng shui result (major or minor) stories. If readers or clients had some great changes in their lives that they’d share it’d be cool and motivating to hear about. : )