Not yet quite finished
This snowy weather has put me in a new mind set. I can no longer paint fish, despite the fact they have been selling like hot cakes. So for the moment the very fishy fish have been side lined.
I was reading a poem the other night, one that accompanies a Zen koan, it goes like this:
Lonely and deep
In the cloudy valley
Still the sacred pine tree
Has passed through the
Cold of many years.
The point of koans are that they should permeate every cell of your being, until you are able to grasp an understanding. And then when you think you have an understanding, you somehow have to find a few words to describe that which is indescribable and convey it to your teacher. The point being, one eventually digs deep enough to realise the absolute. 'When you hear music your body just dances and Zen Koan meditation is like that. You can step into freedom in just one step, without working out how to do it. It can be as simple as just turning your head.' John Tarrant.
Anyway I love this poem and the analogy it makes between the tree and our own lives. The tree is just being a tree, standing steadfast through whatever nature throws at it. Just 'being'.
It has formed part of my daily meditation as I walk around the lake each morning. And every day I see something different in it. Soooo I had to make a painting. Not for any one else, just for me.
