The series equilibrium is an exploration of the meaning behind the lotus flower in the Buddhist tradition, being that the flower blooms in muddy water. Holding its significance in symbolizing purity and transformation, that good can come from something that may seem undesirable. Awareness of the present moment is an important element to meditation, and flowers are a great example of needing to appreciate the now. By taking the flowers out of the moment that they existed in they are no longer real, they become fiction, reinforcing the idea of impermanence in mindfulness meditation. Such is the fragility of photography. Rooted in my own meditation practice, where I have found solace and peace, a feeling of calm and serenity is evident in this series of images. The flower appears still, yet radiant against the dark background, emerging from the muddy water. The flower’s energy is palpable, bright and illuminated as they hold importance both in the photograph and in life.

 

 

I have chosen to explore this because of the journey I have embarked on through my introduction to meditation. I have seen and felt a change in how I live my life; how I have begun to find a balance in everything I do, similar to a lotus blossoming from muddy water. Balance is important, because like a flower and other elements in nature, all things are in balance. There is constant shifting and changing, with one comes another. With life there is death, with light there is darkness, with good there is bad. We all are searching for balance in life, in search of something that will make us happy bring us peace, or fill a missing part of us, but we must exist like the flower and just be. Being aware of the moment and allowing the feelings internally and externally to come and go – to find equilibrium.