Catching Blessings on a Lotus Leaf

I recently took an early morning walk through the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall gardens. They are beautiful. Aside from the absolutely stunning buildings on the grounds, the gardens are oases of remarkable peace and serenity in the midst of a busy crowded city.

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

National Concert Hall in the background

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall as seen through the outer gate

 A Malayan Night Heron, unafraid, walks near me on the garden grounds.

An early morning runner near the main entrance gate of 

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Park.

It was early morning, and the air was still cool enough to enjoy a walk without the heavy humidity that would settle in later that day. Other than the rustling of the waters now and then where the koi were gathering, the pond was still and calm.

I’ve always loved the beautiful lotus flowers. They carry thousands of years of meaning and symbolism, from culture to culture, from faith to faith. They rise up from the muddiest of depths, pure and unsullied, day after day. I’m told, though I didn’t stay long enough to see it, that the lotus flower dips down into the water or mud every evening, only to rise again in the morning, once again renewed, sparking clean and fresh. There is plenty of powerful symbolism in that alone!

When photographing one of the blossoms, what really caught my eye was the lotus leaf next to it.

Somehow it invited my attention. I was drawn to it again and again.  It was single, not overly stunning in beauty compared to the flower next to it, but I couldn’t help admire.

Beads of rain water collected on its surface, pooling in the center. A little drop here, a little drop there, all collected by the cupped outstretched hand of the lotus leaf.

I really liked that. It brought me somehow a spirit of peace and happiness.

I saw the outstretched hands of grateful people, receiving - and then dispensing to others - blessings throughout their lives.

Blessings are all around us.  They may seem like little things at first, a little kindness from someone, a whiff of flowers on a nearby shrub,

the adorable cuteness of a little child following us or the sound of a harmonica being played somewhere in the garden. Blessings shared in the pigeons that held still, calm and unafraid, lining up on the bridge they had long ago claimed as their own. Gifts from the Giver of all good things.

D&C 88:33 – For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him and he receive not the gift?  Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift.

What blessings, gifts, and joys are all around us, that we might be missing?  We can see the hand of the Lord all around, and those little gifts pool deeply in our hearts as we collect them, and then share them outwardly with others.

Our hearts are lifted. We walk in a spirit of daily gratitude. Sometimes it is easy to get too distracted with the busyness of life – with the noise and drama and work – the shuffling back and forth here and there – and one might miss the tender mercies of the Lord.  But when we take time to look, to reach our hands outward and upward, we will find little beads of blessings collecting on the edges of our lives, being drawn inward into our hearts, and then outward as we share them with others.

                                      Thank you - lotus leaf. 

Henry David Thoreau – “An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.”