The Chambered Nautilus and Lotus Flower
Welcome!
Why the chambered nautilus and lotus? Today, I’ll share with you the reasons why I chose the chambered nautilus and the lotus blossom for my logos. It lies with the lessons of Nature…
The chambered nautilus is a wonder of nature, and amazingly beautiful. The story behind the shell is as wonderful as the visual beauty of it. The mollusk that lives in the shell moves from one chamber to the next as it goes through its life. As it grows, it progresses forward to the next chamber, with each chamber larger than the one before it. The mollusk never goes backward to a smaller chamber. What a great metaphor for us in our lives. As time goes by, we live through many different circumstances: happy, sad, challenging, perhaps devastating. As a result, we can grow larger and larger, never to go backward – or not.
For us, it is a choice to grow personally, emotionally, spiritually – in essence, to be a better person. To grow, we often need to leave our comfort zones and overcome challenges. That can be uncomfortable (an understatement?), but I suggest that we owe it to ourselves to go forward. We can take the tough circumstances in our lives and become more compassionate and giving, or we can take another road and choose to become bitter or nasty. The choice is ours. Trust me – I know it is not as easy as it sounds in a few sentences. There is a reason for the term “growing pains.” It may not happen quickly, but it can happen. Then, like the mollusk, we can create a marvelous thing of beauty.
The lotus flower is another wonder of nature. The lotus grows from the muck and mud, and reaches up to the light to open into a beautiful blossom. Like the lotus, I believe that the mud and muck of our lives (those circumstances that we would avoid and erase if we could), can be the source of something beautiful and good. Again, we choose that path – even when we have to drag ourselves almost kicking and screaming to do it. And again, I’m not saying it is easy, maybe it is never easy, but it is truly possible. It is often the best antidote to the emotional pain we feel to do something for others. An example: when my Mom died, it was painful beyond words for my Dad. Yet a few months after my Mom’s passing, my Dad established a scholarship foundation in her name. As a result, there are now doctors, respiratory therapists, an opera singer, and dozens of college and medical school graduates for whom those scholarships made a difference. A flower from the muck.
Nature has provided two great examples of beauty emerging from challenges in life’s circumstances. I wish for all of us that our lives will yield beauty from our challenges. We’ll be better, and the world will be better. My best to all…
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more. I welcome your comments and questions, or suggestions for future topics.