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Mud & Lotus Stories
Stories from real people, of real life.
Stories of heartache, hope and growth.
The mud and the lotus:
Lotus flowers are found on the surface of bodies of fresh water. But their journey starts in the muck, way below the sunlight in the depths of darkness. They push through this muck, going up…up…up…finally emerging a pristine flower.
Do you ever feel like you are pushing through muck with no sunlight in sight?
Do you remember a time a time when you emerged with a renewed purpose or gift?
The Flower
"As I studied the now-wilted flower, I realized I could see myself in it. What was once open and beautiful had become closed and withdrawn."
Did You Get Your Handbook for Life?
“I didn’t receive my copy. When they were giving them out, mine must have gotten dropped, given to someone else, or lost. I didn’t get mine. Did you get yours?”
Surfing From the Hospital Bed
“My patient felt a lifelong dream had been met and I felt I had literally accomplished the impossible…”
The Day My Cat Went to Space
“Is he in space?”, my 3 year old son asked. “Ummmm, yes. He is.”, I replied…
My Grandmother and the Birdbath
“…I also now know that loss is inevitable. How we cope is up to us.”
The Caterpillar’s Journey
“ I thought of times when I had quite literally been transformed after the most horrible things I experienced…”
Grief in the Lotus Pond #1
“The best thing I have learned to do…is carry her love out into the world…”
Views From the Hallway
“Sometimes I felt like I was stuck in a hallway, waiting for doors to open…”
Tending the garden
“…Sometimes we have to do a bit of weeding in ourselves to make room for new growth and new blooms…”
Swims and Superblooms
“As winter drew to a close, I heard whispers of a superbloom happening…”
A changed landscape
“As a child, he visited tobacco fields in his hometown in Canada and learned that the farmers quit watering the tobacco rather early in the season. ‘Why?’ He asked…”
The garden
“There was a simpler time in these folks' lives but now was not it. Now there was a focus on food affordability, finding transportation to medical appointments…”
I could not find a job
I always thought I knew the path ahead of me. I always had goals and I thought that ahead of goals was achievement. No one told me it’s not that simple…
The man in the power wheelchair
His name was John. Due to a stroke, he was confined to a wheelchair, with only partial use of his left side…
It was her last Valentine’s Day
My mother’s last Valentine’s Day I knew would be her last. I bought her a balloon in the shape of a heart. She was so happy about this balloon. Happier, in fact, than I thought the average person would be…
I had to quit my job.
In 2013/2014, I was nearing the end of my graduate program. had a paid job, an internship and attended classes weekly. I had long commutes for all of this. Suddenly, one day I was so dizzy I could hardly drive…
Fall down how many times?
I’ve heard of the Chinese Proverb, ‘Fall down 7 times, stand up 8’…