The Lotus Is Stunning- Despite Growing In The Mud.

If you follow my blog you will know that I have used a similar title before. I have recently spent a great deal of time reading up and learning about the lotus flower and I have been amazed at just how spectacularly beautiful they are despite growing from the thickest mud around. Not only do they grow in mud but they are so beautiful and healthy because they grow in mud. I have spent my fair share of time in hospitals, whether it has been from visiting them personally or visiting other patients or from my time spent volunteering. I have seen some incredibly beautiful things in that time. I have seen some breathtaking moments that would have not otherwise happened had it not been for the often unfortunate reason for being at the hospital. (New Babies are exempt in from this example!) Even in the darkest of places where the shadows reside, they are not powerful enough to keep the light out. In some of the darkest situations I have witnessed such pure beauty that it actually defies the laws of darkness. It is such a beautiful reminder that it is absolutely true, the Lotus grows so beautifully because of that deep, thick, black mud, not just despite it. I have been candid in my blog posts and I am happy to put myself out there in a way that makes people think and question their own self truths. I have told you about my childhood, my teens and early twenties. I did well on my own despite the situations. I trusted myself and I counted on myself in a way that never caused anyone to ever 'worry' about me. I have somehow in life equated other people 'worrying' about me as some sort of personal failure. I have unfortunately taken that trait and brought it into my adulthood and allowed it to flourish. I recently learned that it is okay to 'worry' about each other, meaning that it is okay to have friends 'worry' about me. It may sound like a small, insignificant realization but it is actually monumental. It actually is a door to healing apart of myself that has been put away and hidden as a weakness when really the only weakness in that is the one that takes away the opportunity for friends to support you/me and the gift that is in that giving. I have been known to be of a very generous nature but have recently been outed as a 'greedy giver', meaning that I don't allow others to easily give to me. My lesson for June 2011 is to allow others to be there for me and to allow them to gift me with their worry and love. It is my lesson to learn to accept without discrediting their gift by feeling guilty for it. I wonder how many of my readers have the same issue... the greedy givers... I would love to hear from you and hear how you deal with it. This month marks a new chapter in my life. Life before June 2011 and life after. I will go into more detail as the journey unfolds. For now I will sign off and remind you to look around you and reach out to those friends you haven't heard from in a while. Go knock on their door... you never know how bright you can make someone's day and how your gift of presence is a bigger gift than you might imagine. Love & Light, t. ps- we were invited to do the 63rd Emmy Award Gift Bags yesterday!!!!