Standing free like a lotus

“The lotus flower is an aquatic plant. The roots of the lotus are planted in the soil of the pond or river bottom. It grows in muddy water until it rises and blooms above the murk. Consider your journey to be like this. Your roots are firmly planed in the soil of this world, and yet you have grown and rose above the surface, and stand free. You are part of this world, but you have also transcended this world because you know the truth and see things as they really are. You are in this world, but not of this world.”

- Jim Palmer, Notes from (Over) the Edge: Unmasking the Truth to End Your Suffering