Peace and love are just as contagious as anger and fear. Your mindset affects the people around you and perpetually changes the world. The question is what kind of world are you creating?
~Vironika Tugaleva
Ukrainian-born author and poet
photo: lotus pond in Taiwan
ed. note: the lotus has long been regarded as a symbol of enlightenment, purity, rebirth, and triumph over obstacles. In Buddhism, the journey of the lotus is said to mirror our own spiritual journeys. Mired in suffering, our spirits start out like a lotus bud, tightly closed and buried in deep in the muddy dark. It is only by living through Buddhist virtues and working our way through varied experiences that we can slowly open ourselves to enlightenment. Buddhists also regard the lotus as an important symbol of non attachment: it remains firmly planted in the mud while growing high above the water’s surface, unsullied by the dirt that surrounds it.
© (image only) 2015 bruce behnke