Be Like The Lotus Flower: Be Reborn Every Day And Face Adversity
Nature is so exciting that it gives us the most unexpected answers when we believe they cannot exist outside of our mind, our hope and our desire to move forward. Far from showing a monotonous and predictable reality, every corner where nature blossoms freely leaves us a new lesson on what it means to inhabit this world.
Not only is she generous towards science, but also towards our senses and our spirituality. It is to the point that in the great variety of manifestations, species and phenomena it produces we come across authentic lessons on how to deal with life. Authentic psychological theories without control of variables or analysis of reliability or validity, but which contain a message whose beauty and meaning are indisputable.
Among all the infinite and curious phenomena of nature is that of the lotus flower. A sui generis phenomenon that translates into an exciting metaphor about life and the adversities we face every day.
The lotus flower
The lotus flower is similar to a water lily that has its roots in the mud and swamp of lagoons and lakes. The lotus flower possesses the seeds with greater longevity and resistance: it can resist up to 30 centuries before flowering without losing its fertility.
This beautiful flower emerges from the mud and feeds on it in swamps or boggy habitats and when it blooms, it rises on its leaves. At night the petals close and the flower plunges under water. It closes to sink, but at dawn it rises again on the dirty water, intact and without residues of impurities thanks to the arrangement of its spiral-shaped petals.
The lotus flower has a peculiarity: it is the only flower to be fruit at the same time: the fruit has the shape of an inverted cone and is located inside it. When the flower is closed, it is odorless, but when it opens, its aroma resembles that of hyacinth. Many consider its hypnotic aroma, capable of altering states of consciousness.
Mythologies about the lotus flower
The great charm of this flower has led it to be a fundamental symbol for multiple civilizations throughout history. The lotus flower is considered sacred and is one of the oldest symbols to which different meanings have been attributed in various oriental countries, however we find multiple references to it also in the western world.
In Greek mythology, the lotophages were a mythical people that the ancients identified with the inhabitants of a population of northeastern Africa. Legend has it that a beautiful goddess got lost in a wood until she reached a place where mud abounded, called lotus, in which she immersed herself.
This space was created by the gods for beings whose fate had been adverse. However, the young woman struggled for thousands of years until she came back transformed into a beautiful lotus flower that symbolized the triumph of perseverance in the face of adverse situations.
In the Buddhist context, the lotus acts as a seat or throne for Buddha or Buddhas and indicates a divine birth. In the Christian world, the lotus flower is replaced by the white lily, a symbol of fertility and purity. Traditionally, in fact, the Archangel Gabriel is represented holding the lily of the annunciation for the Virgin Mary.
The lotus flower and its meaning in psychology
The lotus flower symbolizes the power of psychological resistance as the ability to transform adversity into potential. Suzanne C. Kobasa, a psychologist at the University of Chicago, has conducted several studies that have shown that resistant people have some common characteristics. They are usually hardworking, in control, and challenging people.
Later, this definition was reconceptualized with the term resilience, which is the essence of the resistant person. Resilience is usually defined as the ability of individuals not to give in to moments of emotional pain and great adversity.
