I’ve been thinking about this for a while, since Greg’s post where we discussed zazen and a messy life. Life has been pretty messy for me, too. And that’s ok. Life gets like that, and in and of itself, that can be beautiful in its own right. Like a child’s finger painting. Usually pretty messy in the conventional sense, no straight lines, a mass of color, some (or most) is unrecognizable. But the fact that it came from a child’s mind and from there to their hands and eventually a piece of paper, the pure spirit of that child in visible formless form, makes it better than a Picaso.
Just like Life. A jumbled mass of color and shapes, guided by something pure yet without rhyme or reason, something that defies the archetypical “plan”, yet has an underlying theme. Now, to be sure, you might not always want a finger painting, sometimes you might look at it and the state of mind you are in will cause you to think, “such a waste of paint.” Or “I hope Johnny didn’t make a mess on the table!” or “Now we’ll have to wash your hands and have you change your clothes!” But the painting is still the same, no matter your state of mind. It is still perfectly chaotic, still a beautiful mess.
Sometimes it’s hard to see and remember that, especially when all you see is the mess. Sometimes you need to look past the mess and see the whole picture. Just a thought…..
Just like Life. A jumbled mass of color and shapes, guided by something pure yet without rhyme or reason, something that defies the archetypical “plan”, yet has an underlying theme. Now, to be sure, you might not always want a finger painting, sometimes you might look at it and the state of mind you are in will cause you to think, “such a waste of paint.” Or “I hope Johnny didn’t make a mess on the table!” or “Now we’ll have to wash your hands and have you change your clothes!” But the painting is still the same, no matter your state of mind. It is still perfectly chaotic, still a beautiful mess.
Sometimes it’s hard to see and remember that, especially when all you see is the mess. Sometimes you need to look past the mess and see the whole picture. Just a thought…..
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