A new series is born. Sometimes just photos. Sometimes with writing. Sometimes on Fridays. (Grateful thanks to Hazel Colditz for this inspiration.)
Protection. Vulnerability. Being born. © 2009 Mahala Mazerov
As soon as the idea to create this series was formed, I knew I wanted this photograph as the inaugural image.
Something is clearly being born. Everything shimmers. We catch a glimpse of the luminous yellow that is to come.
I love the way the sepals and petals remind me of Buddhist imagery of the thousand petaled lotus. Born in the mud and blossoming in purity, the lotus symbolizes the development of individual beings towards enlightenment. In Buddhist art and in meditation practices Buddhas, deities, and sacred syllables sit on and sometimes arise from a lotus. I can easily imagine a little Buddha hovering here.
Spending more time with this image, I see vulnerability. I see the tender responsibility of wishing to protect and allowing to set free.
The sepals, the calyx as a whole whose job it is to protect the flower while it develops, are not much stronger than the petals in their care. Their menacing-looking points offer small protection. The whole bud is vulnerable. It’s easily broken or crushed. But a harder exterior would trap the flower and prevent it from blooming.
How often do we find ourselves walking this line, trying to protect and bring forward a dream, a birth, an awakening? Our natural response may be to harden some part of ourselves. What we really need is the green flexibility of the calyx and the promise of the flower.
When I’m feeling vulnerable I’ve discovered what I mostly need is some small safety that encourages me to blossom. In that way something new can be born. It doesn’t guarantee everything will go easily. Maintaining mindful awareness is hard work and the decision to stay with a raw and tender heart can make that even harder. But there are moments when true freedom is born. I catch glimpses of my enlightened heart. I discover that the ultimate ground of protection is the fully-opened flower of my heart.
mahala!
may i be the first to say…..”the friday flower” is magnificent and you are the true flower….your words, your presence, your spirit is a form of rebirth to many. i am thrilled to be a part of this journey, always with love and rejoicing in your new vision…..hazel
hazel colditz´s last blog ..circles of life
thank you so much for the reminder.
I am so touched by your message. I can apply it to my situation now. And I am thankful that I was able to decipher that message and connect.
I need to be as flexible as this budding flower. If I try to be tough and act like I know everything, I will not bloom. The flower will not fully open.
Vincent
Thank you Mahala for your beautiful words and imagery. What has come up for me reading this is that a flower knows exactly what it needs to do so that it can blossom.
So do we.
If we try to control outcomes we can get in the way of our own blossoming. Best to be like a flower and follow our own light.
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This is magnificent….. thanks for sharing! A beautiful image to hold as I am walking that line between protecting and awakening.
Hazel ~ Thank you for your brilliant idea and your generous words on this first post.
FYI people ~ I was thinking about setting up a photo album or a photo slide show when Hazel recommended using them as posts. Why didn’t I think of that!? I don’t know how they will flow from here and I’m in total trust that they will. But this first one was a delight to explore.
Vincent ~ I had no idea where I was going when I started writing. We both discovered the message! I’m happy you could decipher it and reach for your own gentleness.
Marilyn~ We do know, deep inside, don’t we? If we will only listen.
“Best to be like a flower and follow our own light.” Lovely.
Kim ~ “Magnificent,” how I love that word. We’re all magnificent! Many blessings to you on the road between protecting and awakening.
Twitter: LuminousHeart
This is simply perfect! I know that thin line well. It is so hard to remain disciplined, find time for creativity and find time to breathe and be true to my spiritual self too. I look forward to future Fridays and thank you !
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Hi Mahala,
I once have a book called the Zen of Seeing. http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/books.php?id=5976
I love to draw and sketch objects and portraits. I am so thankful I found that used book in a shop of secondhand books. It taught me a lot about seeing. That is what you just did, only with a camera. I would first observe my object almost meditatively and try to understand it, see it for what it is. Then break everything down to its essence or core, disassemble them then put them all back together, remove one element, add one, and try to understand, what is happening, or what would happen if I do this or do that, how it relates to its surroundings.
I am colorblind (reds, greens, browns and those mixed with these colors). It would be unfair to the disabled, if the author means superficial seeing, for we can see with all our senses, no matter how limited.
Seeing the whole universe, seeing myself through an object. As if every single thing reflects me, as if saying we are all one and the same, and yet different and individual.
This is very beautiful.
Mahala, this is beautiful! Thank you so much, both for the photograph and for your wisdom about that fine balance between protecting what is emerging, and giving it the spaciousness to unfold.
Love and blessings to you,
Hiro
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Kelli ~ It is hard to remain disciplined, and I keep thinking we have to have something more natural and less effort-full than willpower to get us through. Thanks for stopping by.
Vincent ~ I remember that book! I’m sure I had a tattered copy of The Zen of Seeing.
Your description of your meditative drawing process is very similar to mine with photography. One day I will write about my process and post it at LuminousHeart. Then we can compare notes.
Debbie ~ I’m happy you liked it.
Hiro ~ Thank you so much for your words and all the love.
Twitter: LuminousHeart
thank you for writing this blog……where i live, i haven’t met people that talk of this subject at all. it is a relief to read it.
Mahala, I feel as if I am being born when I look at this photograph. I am going to print it and use it as inspiration. Thank you.
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vulnerable and ready to bloom…the perfect combination!
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