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December 6, 2006

My gift is my song girl, and this one's for you.

Behold, the story of a lotus flower.

One of my favorite symbols of spiritual growth has always been the Lotus plant. I first came across the story of the Lotus in my studies of eastern religions. Although the flower itself is truly remarkable this is not the aspect of the plant which I find so fascinating. Rather, it is the story of how the plant produces the blossom that captures my attention.

In India, the Ganges River is not just a symbol of a religious belief system. The river itself is considered to be a goddess. Her waters have been the heart of India’s spiritual life for countless centuries. People have come to the Ganges to wash, to cleanse the soul, for renewal, to be anointed, and at the end of life to be cremated and consecrated to her depths. Having your ashes flowed over by the Ganges completes the earthly journey and returns you home.

The Ganges River covers a substantial area and touches the lives of countless villages and communities. Along it’s journey it collects a lot of the refuge of daily life and the remains of many people going home. Yes, all manner of awful crap sinks to the bottom of the Ganges River. Hence, the river bottom is a centuries old collection of sludge. Some would go as far as to say it is one deep nasty pit of excrement.

And this is where the seed of the Lotus plant begins its story. Its journey begins by falling through the murky waters of the Ganges River and landing smack dab in a heaping trough of stinking poop.

Welcome to the world little fellow.

Having no choice in the matter the small seed puts forth roots and begins its growth back up through the crap towards the warm and nurturing light of the sun. Straight as an arrow the stalk of the lotus plant heads for the surface of the Ganges. It does not matter if the distance it must travel is ten, fifteen or even twenty feet. Straight and true, it grows towards the light.

Eventually, the tip of the stalk pierces the surface of the water and only then does the blossom of the Lotus opens its petals and reveals its inner beauty to the sky. This moment of standing revealed in the light of the sun is worth every moment of the journey both into and then out of the river of crap.

Sometimes the Internet reminds me of the Ganges River. Man, there is a lot of poop floating around in there. Some of it is really nasty and stinky too. It’s certainly not something I’d like to feel squishing around between my toes if you know what I mean. But there’s also some radiant Lotus flowers floating in the murky waters and one of the most lovely I’ve found goes by the name of, whimsical.

When her seed fell into the metaphorical waters of the Ganges River of life, she literally fell, as in from the top story of a burning building. She bounced a couple of times and landed hard in a great-big-heaping-pile-of-hot-steaming-poop.

The next time you find yourself thinking how tough you’ve got it and how hard it is trying to hang on to your sanity; go and peruse the archives of her story. Then take another look at whatever situation you find yourself in and count your blessings. I love her story. It is a real life lesson of courage and heart. It is a true example of strength.

Now, of all the things this beautiful flower lost to the fire that altered her life the one that touches my heart the most is her loss of Christmas. Yes, the fire occurred just four days before Christmas and she’s never felt the same joy again during this season.

I think she needs a Christmas miracle...

And I’m kind of hoping we can give her that miracle.

Maybe if we all take just a minute to stop by whimsical’s place and offer her a Christmas greeting she’ll begin to recapture the essence of this wonderful time of the year. If we’re lucky, the light of the sun will shine down upon the flower of her heart and rekindle the magic of Christmas and she’ll be even further healed.

Hey, miracles happen...


The whimisical Lotus Blossum.

"Merry Christmas, Babe."


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27 Comments:

Blogger whimsical brainpan said...

*gives Dirk a great big virtual hug and kiss*

First you make me cry by being so kind and then you make me laugh my ass off because of the cartoon.

I'm glad we found each other. :-) And because of you I've met my fair share of lotuses in the blog world, yourself included of course.

You are so sweet, Thank you!

December 06, 2006 1:08 AM  
Blogger Officer Gary said...

Thanks for the story. I'm going to visit whimsical now.

December 06, 2006 1:57 AM  
Blogger ShadowFalcon said...

Your obssesion with the lotus blossom is rather worriying, unless your a botanist...then again its a rather nice flower

December 06, 2006 3:19 AM  
Blogger skeet said...

Love the lotus blossom story. I'll check out whimsical tomorrow when it's not late & work isn't waiting.

December 06, 2006 4:12 AM  
Blogger Nipizan said...

Wonderful post Dirk!

At the rate you are going, I am hanging too much here and dump my own updates...

Thank you.
Don

December 06, 2006 4:32 AM  
Blogger Mone said...

Your story telling was very kind. Thank you XOXO

December 06, 2006 6:43 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

“A prose magician, Star is that rare literary anomaly: a gentle-spirited writer of boundless ambition...”

December 06, 2006 7:48 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

“On a par with the best, most tightly-written sections of his previous entries.”

December 06, 2006 7:49 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

“Dirk_Star’s fans will eagerly clue in on the fine quality in his nimble voice – something firm, rich, and anything but child’s play.”

December 06, 2006 7:50 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

“Once I’d read a few entries, I was hooked.”

December 06, 2006 7:50 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

“Star’s stories skim the greasy layer of hypocrisy from our social hierarchy. He’s got the earnest, self-deprecating intellectual wit that the ladies dig, and the sarcastic, ball-busting humor that the guys admire.”

December 06, 2006 7:51 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Experiences this joyful are usually illegal... If heart was measured in people, Dirk_Star would be China. His talent is that huge."

December 06, 2006 7:53 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"A writer worth treasuring...Star can turn a rant into a thing of beauty... He is a prime candidate for best blogger alive."

December 06, 2006 7:55 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"A writer who can be side-splittingly funny and in turn touching and tender... His is a voice to be heard, a heart to be celebrated."

December 06, 2006 8:00 AM  
Blogger Judy said...

No coffee yet, not much sleep last night (thinking about some new friends), birds and horses to feed, stove to stoke... uh, could you maybe put some special instructions on the post for foggy-headed wizards? Something like, "Remember how this site works? CLICK ON THE PICTURES, WIZ!"

December 06, 2006 8:53 AM  
Blogger Jay said...

That was a wonderful post Dirk. You're a good man.

December 06, 2006 10:28 AM  
Blogger jali said...

You are a sweetie with a really cool page.

Lunch?

Dallas?

With Moi?

Of course the wife and btb (baby to be) are welcome. They need to bring their own coupons (only kidding)

December 06, 2006 11:03 AM  
Blogger Pepper said...

Wow. I love this. Thank you. This is the reason that I visit your page so often.

I love the changes you made in your blog as well.

I just noticed your word verification looks like nakedheels. God I need to lay off the coffee.

December 06, 2006 12:03 PM  
Blogger Craig D said...

Let us float us a lotus!

(I just added more to my on-going FZ saga, BTW)

December 06, 2006 1:25 PM  
Blogger Julie K said...

The poodles are very touched by your recent posting they wanted me to pass it on.

December 06, 2006 1:34 PM  
Blogger Crunchy Carpets said...

That is beautiful.
And I love the look of the site.

I think the internet is amazing when one post can make you cringe, another laugh out loud and the next have you sobbing over your keyboard.

I will visit now.

I like to think that our mighty Fraser river is the BC version of the Ganges.

December 06, 2006 1:42 PM  
Blogger Steven said...

Good stuff.

Good stuff indeed.

Much gooder than my stuff.

Yes...I typed gooder. ;)

Steve~

December 06, 2006 2:04 PM  
Blogger Max and Me said...

oooh you are just...so wonderful! i have met so many good people through you and in such a short time. i absolutely share your sentiments about whimsical. she is a beautiful soul. yes let's spread some christmas cheer!

and thank you for the link! wow...i am so honored!

December 06, 2006 3:04 PM  
Blogger DNR said...

Now that's what I call flower power. I WILL be stoping by whimsical's place later this evening.

December 06, 2006 5:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think there is some synchronicity going on. It turns out that today on a blog by Joe Mahoney called Assorted Nonsense http://writerbroadcaster.com/WordPress/index.php/ he posted that people should come see my blog. His post was nowhere near as touching as yours my sweet Dirk. Do you two know each other or is the universe up to something?

December 06, 2006 8:02 PM  
Blogger Larry said...

Great post Dirk:

They get better every day.

December 06, 2006 8:16 PM  
Blogger skeet said...

I tried to post over there & had trouble with the log in, so my post disappeared. Did it again, post disappeared. Then I realized it was way over the top emotional, so I think it was karma eating it up. Maybe tomorrow with a little bit of distance.

Mahalo for pointing us that way.

December 07, 2006 4:57 AM  

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