NOTE: The copyright of the poem below is owned by Sarah, Duchess of York. It is taken from the book "Finding Sarah: A Duchess' Journey to Find Herself" by Sarah, Duchess of York (Simon and Shuster, 2012). It is reproduced here on a non-commercial basis, in a spirit of appreciation and gratitude to the author.
"The Lotus Flower" by Sarah, Duchess of York
I dream that my daughters rise like the lotus flower. That they grow to have strong and secure roots, to stand tall and steadfast. So that when the rain comes, storms hit, and dusty winds blow - nothing sticks to their core.
I dream that they face the fears of life, with the calm knowledge of the Divine Light of their own guide within themselves. To be aware of the Golden energy of their own soul. I dream that they take the time to realise and know the truth is not outside but inside.
I dream that they don't live with regrets, that they cannot let either the past or the future rob them, like thieves... of the present day.
I dream that my daughters have courage to be exactly who they are, strong and bold, never to wear a blanket in order to hide the true golden beauty of themselves.
Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We were born to make and manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some; it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we consciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
I dream that my daughters keep the lotus flower within them always.
I dream my daughters walk with strength as they inspire, and lead by example of Goodness, Kindness, Humour, Respect, Dignity and solid Integrity to themselves. If they lead with pride and humility, with good intentions, the mirror energy of life will be reflected.
Analysis
The lotus flower has several important symbolic meanings in Eastern spiritual cultures. These include endurance, purity, rebirth, divinity and karma. In this poem, the Duchess draws on several of these meanings to express her ideas.
The poem is mainly presented as a mother's hopes, guidance and advice for her children - Sarah's two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. However, from the context of the poem, I'm sure it also has a relevance for Sarah herself and for us, the readers.
The poem is presented as part of Chapter 3 of the Duchess' book "Finding Sarah", a book that shows us the journey of self-discovery, rebirth and renewal that she went on following the so-called "fake sheikh scandal" of 2011.
"I went to find the lotus flower within myself", she says at the start of the chapter. The lotus rises up from muddy waters, and in this context the muddy waters are the scandal, and the flower is the new, pure self she hopes to achieve. Since the intention of the book is to pass on to her readers the lessons of her journey, it makes sense that we can also learn something from the poem's message.
The first thing we notice about the poem is the repetition, at the start of many of the stanzas, of the phrase "I dream that my daughters..." or "I dream that they..." Connecting to the spiritual themes of the poem, this repetition effect works like a mantra or a prayer.
The choice of the word "dream" is an interesting one. She could have used "hope" or "pray", but "dream" makes this seem like a kind of divinely inspired vision. This fits with her use of phrases like "golden energy" and "golden beauty" to describe her daughters - the dreamer is seeing much more than what the waking world shows us.
And if we dream of a lotus flower, what does it mean? According to the DreamStop website: "Dreaming of the lotus symbolizes spiritual enlightenment and growth, innocence, and beauty. It serves as a bright light in hard times. The lotus flower is a symbol of hope. Seeing the lotus flower brings courage to help you deal with hard challenges". ( http://dreamstop.com/lotus-water-lily-dream-meaning-interpretations/) This perfectly fits the message of the poem!
Let's start with the idea of "courage to help you deal with hard challenges". Sarah wants her daughters to "have strong and secure roots, to stand tall and steadfast" and to "face the fears of life with the calm knowledge of the Divine Light of their own guide within themselves". The "strong and secure roots" could reflect the stable upbringing and moral values that Sarah and Andrew provided for their daughters. In another sense, it could be a strongly spiritual inner core which they could fall back on, to get through hard times.
There are two other interesting spiritual concepts here - the "Divine Light" and the "guide within themselves". The "Divine Light" is an idea existing across many religions, defined on Wikipedia as "an unknown and mysterious ability of God, angels, or human beings to express themselves communicatively through spiritual means".
As for "their own guide within themselves", this seems to refer to the Taoist concept of the Inner-Guide. This is a kind of guiding wisdom or energy that exists in each of us, if we can only find it and trust it. This site has an excellent explanation: https://www.wakingtimes.com/2015/03/15/how-to-connect-with-your-inner-guide-and-why-it-matters/
Finding this inner-guide is the realisation that, as Sarah says in the poem, "the truth is not outside but inside ". This reflects the Buddhist idea that we cannot achieve fulfilment from external factors such as material possessions or success, but from within ourselves, freeing the mind from affliction and achieving enlightenment.
In order to achieve this we have to live in the present. The Buddha said: "You shouldn't chase after the past or place expectations on the future. What is past is left behind. The future is as yet unreached. Whatever quality is present you clearly see right there, right there".
This concept is also included by Sarah in her poem. She does this through a metaphor of two thieves, representing the past and the future, who rob us of the present day. She has often talked of her own difficulty in living with regret, and doesn't want her girls to suffer the same way. The other thief seems to represent that anxiety about the future that we all feel sometimes. Incidentally, Sarah is a strong believer in importance of mindfulness and meditation, through which we can focus ourselves on the present moment.
In the next part of the poem, Sarah introduces some advice to her daughters that seems especially important in their role as Princesses. They must not "hide" or "play small" or "shrink so that other people won't feel insecure around you", but instead "be exactly who they are, strong and bold".
Think about how Sarah herself comes across in public - bubbly, larger than life, full of energy! And people love that - they respond to her energy and charisma! Sarah knows her daughters can't get away from the public role and public attention that comes with their birth and title - so embrace it, be yourself, and people will appreciate that!
"As we let our own light shine", she says, "we consciously give other people permission to do the same". So by proudly representing who they are, and being the best they can be, the Princesses will inspire others to achieve great things.
Sarah seems to be passing on the lessons she has learned from her own years in public life. Just like the Duchess herself, her daughters are role models to all the people who look up to them. Therefore they must "inspire and lead by example of Goodness, Kindness, Humour, Respect, Dignity and solid Integrity to themselves". It's interesting to see "humour" included in this list, and it seems very characteristic of Sarah - that big smile and infectious laugh and part of what makes her so charming!
In fact we can see this list as a kind of summary of "York family values". If the role of the Yorks is to "lead" and "inspire", then we, as fans, should try to follow their example and live up to those values (Goodness, Kindness, Humour, Respect, Dignity, Integrity) that they represent to us.
What's more, at a deeper, spiritual level too, we can learn from the poem's message. Sarah says: "We were born to make and manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some; it is in everyone". This makes it clear that her message is not only for Beatrice and Eugenie, but for all of us. We may not be Royalty, as they are, but the glory of God is in us just the same.
Therefore it makes sense that Sarah recommends her girls to lead not only "with pride" but also "with humility". Just as she does, they must treat everybody with respect and kindness, as we all have the light of the divine within us.
By acting in this way, "with good intentions", Sarah says, "the mirror energy of life will be reflected". These final words of the poem seem to be referring to the concept of karma. "Good intent and good deeds contribute to good karma and future happiness" (Wikipedia). Karma is also associated with the idea of rebirth - remember that the whole concept of "Finding Sarah" is the Duchess' journey of rebirth and renewal after the scandal!
And how is karma represented and symbolised? By a lotus flower! "Lotus symbolically represents karma in many Asian traditions. A blooming lotus flower is one of the few flowers that simultaneously carries seeds inside itself while it blooms. Seed is symbolically seen as cause, the flower effect. Lotus is also considered as a reminder that one can grow, share good karma and remain unstained even in muddy circumstances." (Wikipedia)
So the poem's final words bring us back to the start, and connect back to the lotus flower! But it's not done in an obvious way - we have to really engage with Sarah's message to make that connection! That's one of the things I love about this poem - as we read it and think about what it's trying to say, there is so much more there to discover!
Princess Eugenie's engagement ring
Princess Eugenie's stunning engagement ring, chosen jointly by her and Jack Brooksbank, features a padparadscha sapphire surrounded by diamonds (see picture above). On reading about their engagement, I was stunned to discover that "padparadscha" is derived from the Sanskrit word for "LOTUS FLOWER", because it has the same colour! As far I'm aware, nobody in the media ever has made this connection - though lots of people pointed out that the ring is quite similar to Sarah's ruby engagement ring. I feel certain that Eugenie would have remembered this beautiful poem that her mother wrote for her and her sister, and wanted to honour her with this beautiful ring!
Conclusion
I hope you've enjoyed my in-depth analysis of this wonderful poem, and hopefully I've helped people to appreciate not only its beauty but also the spiritual and ethical ideas within it.
I encourage anybody who hasn't done so to buy the book, "Finding Sarah" from which it is taken. I particularly recommend the audiobook, simply because Sarah's voice is so beautiful, and hearing her read it is just the best way to experience it!
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Sarah-Duchesss-Journey-Herself/dp/1439189544
Audible
https://www.audible.com/pd/Finding-Sarah-Audiobook/B006PJ54YW