Lotus Bloom

Lotus, what a beautiful, delicate flower; this flower blooms like no other, it submerges each night into the river then re-blooms in the morning, almost symbolizing the start of a new day/fresh start. In Jhene Aiko’s song “Lotus (intro)” she begins with the verse “There was a woman born from a Lotus/ Her heart was golden, deep as the ocean” this verse means a lot me, considering how I link the lotus with purity, rareness, kindness, empathy, beauty and the woman is all of these qualities and more.

This woman is me.

The next phrase basically covers how a man, negative feeling, idea or person shattered the heart, the hard-work, just like that; causing a domino effect. I relate to this because when I feel I’m at a high-point that took so much effort, tears, and breakdowns to attain, a small thing comes and knocks me down from what I feel is a pedestal. While on the pedestal I didn’t feel above anyone, but I felt above my past self. A personal example is when I believe I’m at a good place mentally, one thing that gets in my way suddenly is, myself. Self depreciation will be the death of me, if I don’t ever learn to love and accept myself. We are not our number one supporters. Most of the time I feel that we are our own enemy. Why? Because we don’t allow ourselves the chance to feel happiness. Instead, we go into defensive mode.

It’s a constant battle and it’s honestly tiring. Imagine constantly breaking down your own self-esteem, then having to rebuild it. It is like a game of Jenga.

The final section discusses how after all the eruption, the woman pushes through and finally becomes her true form: a beast. A beast definitely has a negative connotation, but I interpret it as an empowered woman ready to take on whatever obstacle is presented to her. Another thing I want to point out is the beat of this song; it brings me some sort of angelical feeling. It is music for the soul, food for the soul. Jhene does an amazing job letting me know that I’m not alone and she’s not alone. Her voice gives a sense of serenity I find so unique and astonishing.

I chose this song to analyze because it’s a very short yet powerful song. It speaks volumes. Its meaning can be interpreted many ways, but my final outlook on it is that every woman is a lotus. A lotus is closed at first, but through the many phases it slowly starts opening up, it starts blooming. Lotus symbolizes healing. Women are healers,too. Women go through so much pain — physically, emotionally, and mentally — that they, in turn, are lotuses themselves.

The main objective of this all is to allow yourself to bloom, no matter how many times you have to rebuild that Jenga.