The beauty of spring is upon us and summer is fast approaching. With more sunshine and longer days, now is the perfect time to take a mindful walk with nature. Be present with each step, enjoy and appreciate the delicate beauty and intricacies of your surroundings. Lilian Cheung penned this flower meditation for Huffington Post, that explains nature has so much to offer us, if we simply slow down to enjoy it for a few moments each day.
Looking deeply into the flower, we are reminded that change occurs in each moment, within us and around us. We grow, the weather turns, the flower withers, but we are still ourselves in essence, the sky is still the sky and the flower remains a flower, long after its blossom fades.
Understanding the impermanence of life, we transcend ideas of existence and non-existence, same and different. We realize our connection to the people and things around us; we do not feel alienated or separated from the world. In this awareness, we are empowered to live consciously and compassionately.
Every moment is an opportunity. Due to life’s impermanent nature, everything is possible! Even when circumstances seem too difficult, we can be the lotus flower, reaching through murky waters towards the sunshine.
In the Buddhist tradition, the lotus flower represents the true nature of beings. We rise into the peace and clarity of enlightenment, blooming with vibrant beauty. Understanding that current obstacles will cease to exist, we are energized to keep reaching. Within the mud, we savor the sunshine, which streams through darkness.
Cheung continues by explaining how, in our modern society, we have become accustomed to avoiding looking at our immediate surrounding in full. We immerse ourselves in technology, our iPads, televisions, smart phones, and ignore the beauty that surrounds us. She reminds us that happiness is not born out of avoidance and overindulgence, however, and that we will find joy in appreciation of the things around us.
