It’s been one of those weeks. The kind where I made a hamster running to nowhere on his little wheel look good. It’s at times like these that I have to remind myself to embrace the mud. As the wonderful Vietnamese, Buddhist monk and poet Thich Nhat Hanh says, “No mud, no lotus.” So I will slather myself with the muddiness and muddled-ness of my actions and thoughts, and believe—know—that a lotus will grow from this mess—sooner or later.
As I was writing the last (first) paragraph, my mother came in and brought me a flawless white viola—the only plant to grow from a seed packet I bought her a year ago. It’s not a lotus, but it’s pretty darn special—and well worth the wait.
For more on exciting things coming out of decidedly grosser ones, check this post from a few years ago: An Ode to Compost.
Also, April being national poetry month and all, I encourage you to seek out some of Thich Nhat Hanh’s beautiful verse.
Thank you for reading.:)
Diana Klein 