The Lesson of the Lily

Turning toward the light, even with muddy feet

This little ode to the lily came about while I was attending a retreat on Integral Psychology in Ubud, Bali, a few years ago.

As part of the retreat, we were invited into a simple nature-based exercise. We were asked to go out into the beautiful grounds, find one small part of the natural world that drew us in, and sit with it for an hour or so.

Not analyse it.

Not turn it into something clever.

Just sit.

Notice.

Connect through the heart.

Afterwards, we were to come back, write something from the experience — and then, of course… share it.

Which sounds lovely now.

At the time, my anxiety went into overdrive.

There is something strangely vulnerable about being asked to create from the heart and then read it aloud. The self-conscious part of us can get very busy very quickly. What if it sounds silly? What if it is too much? What if it is not enough?

But I did it.

And in doing it, I learnt something about letting that self-conscious part of me step back a little. Not forcing it away. Not battling with it. Just allowing it to loosen its grip enough for me to be present with the simple, pleasurable, moment-by-moment gift of the experience.

I chose a lily.

The lily has long held meaning for me because of one of my favourite Edgar Cayce teachings — the idea that, like the lily, we can learn to turn our face toward the light, even when our feet are planted in muddy waters.

That image has stayed with me.

Because life is not always clean.

Healing is not always elegant.

Sometimes the ground beneath us is messy, uncertain, and far from ideal. And yet, something in us may still be able to turn toward light.

Here is the poem I wrote that day in Ubud.

My hope is that it might become a small prompt for you, too.

Go into nature, if it feels right.

Find a flower, a stone, a tree, a bird, a cloud.

Sit with it for a while.

And gently ask:

What does my heart have to say in this moment of connection?

Ode to the Lily

“What lessons do you have to share with me,
oh beauty divine?”
I asked.

Quietly, gently,
the answer came.

Swampy water,
muddy feet.

Not the sort of place
you would choose
to rest your feet
willingly,
knowingly.

And yet,
I know the secret.

It matters not to me
where my feet may be,
but where my heart is.

As I turn my face upward
to the Sun,
to the Light,
it warms me
and nourishes me.

It guides me.

And as I show
the best of what I have to give,
I am rewarded
with the most beautiful of flowers.

As I am shown,
so now I show you.

Beautiful flower,
show your strength
in adversity
and muddy surrounds.

Show your gracious heart
to the Light.

Turn your smile
toward the Divine,
within and without.

And you will have learned
the lesson of the lily.

#SpiritualPsychology
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