Glorious Mud

No Mud No Lotus, recognizes that suffering can be transformed to happiness and that if we are able to be present with our suffering, we can be present with our joy. Thich Nhat Hahn speaks of the suffering being the mud and that happiness blooms as a lotus. Without Mud, a Lotus cannot grow.

Recently I heard the Hippopotamus Song by Flanders and Swann. It is sweet and funny. Its about Hippos down by the river in the mud. Starts with 1 hippo who is then joined by a friend and pretty soon a community of hippos join them.

 

Mud Mud Glorious Mud

Nothing quite like it to

Cool the blood.

Follow me follow

Down to the hollow

And there we shall wallow

In Glorious Mud.

There is more to the song, and I am sharing the link to the version I enjoyed recently and I hope you enjoy it as well.

Flanders & Swann – The Hippopotamus Song (Live) – YouTube

Peace, happiness, joy can all be experienced when we are able to embrace life in the present. It takes courage to stay in the present, especially when fear, anger, and sadness are overwhelmingly strong. It can be liberating to recognize the moments of joy, hope and peace however fleeting, and the more we can be in touch with what brings us true peace and joy we can then share that with others.

In 2017, I hope we can all find ways to share joy and peace with others and when we find ourselves in the mud, may we also see the blooming lotus.

Peace,

Shobhna

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