24” x 36”/Acrylic & Beading on Birch Panel

The title of this piece is also the title of a book by Thich Nhat Hanh. In this book, the author explores the relationship between suffering and happiness. How often we create suffering for ourselves through our actions and our thoughts. But he also points out that like a lotus plant, we too need a bit of suffering in our lives, to remind us of our humanity and to help us appreciate the joy more profoundly. The lotus blooms with a lovely jewel of a blossom because of the mud. Beads can be like the exuberant joyful explosions these flowers create in our visual field.