I put a lotus flower in a piece of fiction I’m writing. In the scene, I started to describe the center of the lotus flower, but then I realized I didn’t have a clear idea what it looked like, so I checked it out. This is it:
I don’t know why, but the center of the lotus flower gives me the serious willies. ICK! What is that? What does it feel like? Why are those bumps there?
I know that some people will think that is beautiful, but…
Maybe I should go with another flower.
Comment by Shawn Powers
June 30, 2010 @ 11:05 am
I realize it’s not terribly poetic, but it looks more like a showerhead than anything else.
Also: Don’t show my wife. I’ll probably end up with pink petals around the showerhead in our master bath… 
Comment by Stephanie
June 30, 2010 @ 11:12 am
Wow, that’s a crazy find! And I’ll admit I do find it very interesting. Poetic, maybe not, but kind of beautiful in its weird way.
But I can’t help you, I know nothing about flowers…
Comment by Joy
June 30, 2010 @ 3:30 pm
Kyle said it looks like a votive candle.
I just want to crush it!
Comment by Alexis
July 1, 2010 @ 6:55 am
That’s the ‘girly bit’ in the middle 
The cloud of q-tip like things are the ‘boy bits’. Actually, once the flower fades I’ve heard that lotus seeds are edible. I know the roots are (my own characters -who live in a swamp- rather enjoy them)
Comment by Rain Pebble
July 20, 2010 @ 10:27 am
The beauty of it for me is that it comes from muddy or murky waters and evolves into something totally different from which it came… Its one of the beautiful gifts of nature…it can represent resilience and change.
Comment by russell
October 23, 2010 @ 1:15 am
what you are experiencing is trypophobia. it has gained acceptance in the psychological world but not in the dictionary world. here’s a link to a helpful website: http://www.trypophobia.com/ (the blog is wonderfully discriptive)
i too have the problem, you’ll find more things like the lotus flower that you have an irrational fear of. eg. honey combs, strawberries, spongy bone, certain egg pod arrangements, etc… to put it short it’s an irrational fear or discomfort in the presence of naturally arranged holes or protrusions as your flower displays. it aint’ no fun, and it pops up more often than you’d think.
Comment by joy
November 14, 2010 @ 11:25 am
Russell,
That is fascinating. And I think you are right–I do have a mild form of this. I’m not actually afraid of things with this texture, but I actively dislike them and find them creepy. How weird that there is a name for that.
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