Sometimes it feels like everything around us is dark, and nothing good can grow. But it is precisely there, within the darkness and the mud, that a small movement of life begins.

Look at the Lotus flower

From the outside, it looks perfect: delicate petals, brilliant colors, a sense of purity and calm. But it wasn’t born in clear, sunlit water. It begins its journey deep in the mud, in murky water, without direct sunlight, in a place that seems incapable of producing anything beautiful.

At first, it is just a tiny seed, buried in darkness, wrapped in mud. There is no beautiful scenery, no sky, no colors. There is only depth, dampness, and uncertainty.

Gradually, from the swamp, a slender stem sprouts. It doesn't know where it is going; it only feels that it must rise upward, toward the light it has yet to see. It pushes itself through layers of mud, sand, and murky water – all without any promise that the sun awaits at the end.

Only when it persists, little by little, does it begin to emerge above the water’s surface. And only there, when it finally meets light, air, and sky – the flower opens.

Anyone who looked at it while it was still buried in the swamp might have thought it had no chance: not enough light, not the “right conditions,” nothing like what “ordinary flowers” have. And yet, from there grows one of the most beautiful, unique, and impressive flowers.

The Lotus has another special quality:

Its leaves hardly get dirty. Even when surrounded by muddy water, drops of water and dirt simply slide off. It grows in the swamp, but the swamp does not stick to it. It remains clean and bright, as if reminding us that we can pass through messy, painful, or difficult places—without letting them stain our hearts and minds.

So it is with us, humans. So it is with our community.

Through the generations, we have experienced countless moments of pain, loss, and darkness. Every time, it could have seemed: “From here, nothing can grow. There is no chance for a flower.” Yet again and again, from the mud—something grows. From brokenness come new life, creativity, community, spirit, meaning.

The ability to grow from darkness, and to keep the heart unstained—not just history. It is a capacity that lives within us, here and now.

Amid all the darkness, uncertainty, fear, and limitations imposed upon us—we have a choice.

We can keep our eyes on the mud, on what is lacking, on the pain;

Or we can choose to be like the Lotus:

To remember that even if we are planted in a swamp, there is a strong root inside us, natural resilience, and a quiet movement that rises upward. To find within us a small point of light, one good intention, one kind thought, one good deed—and let them grow.

Sometimes it is a very small step:

• Hug a child
• Call a friend
• Bring food for a family in need
• Share a kind word
• Take a deep breath just before responding

But every such step is like another Lotus leaf opening above the water.

I wish for us that every time we feel stuck in the mud, we remember the Lotus: it isn't ashamed of the swamp. It uses it to bloom.

What is one choice you can make today that will be a Lotus-like step out of your darkness?

❤️ Hannah