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Thread: Life is a Mess

  1. #1

    Life is a Mess

    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…..

  2. #2

    Re: Life is a Mess

    Quote Originally Posted by JohnsonCM
    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.
    Man, you hit bone with this one. Really deep and beautiful. Thanks for posting this.

    If we meditated with koans here I would take this paragraph into the silence and come back a better man.

    gassho
    Greg

  3. #3

    Re: Life is a Mess

    Man, you hit bone with this one. Really deep and beautiful. Thanks for posting this.
    I agree!

    Gassho,
    John

  4. #4

    Re: Life is a Mess

    Great post, thank you.

    Gassho,
    Matt

  5. #5

    Re: Life is a Mess

    Hi.

    _/_
    Gassho.

    Mtfbwy
    Fugen

  6. #6

    Re: Life is a Mess

    A beautiful thought, so very true. Thank you.

    Trying to fix the mess is the most messy part.


    gassho


    Taigu

  7. #7

    Re: Life is a Mess

    Thanks for all the comments! I am glad that what I said resonnated with you. Cleaning up the mess is deffinately the hardest part, but that's why I've stopped trying to clean it up and started just trying to appreciate it. Thank you Taigu-san.

  8. #8

    Re: Life is a Mess

    Quote Originally Posted by JohnsonCM
    Thanks for all the comments! I am glad that what I said resonnated with you. Cleaning up the mess is deffinately the hardest part, but that's why I've stopped trying to clean it up and started just trying to appreciate it. Thank you Taigu-san.
    Ah you have seen my house then eh
    Thank you for your post! Very true in this house hold and yeah... cleaning up will happen just like the mess did.

    Gassho
    Shohei

  9. #9

    Re: Life is a Mess

    I was thinking about this post again today. Our older daughter just started painting recently.

    Paint on the floor, paint on the walls, paint on our paintings, paint on the cabinets, paint where it washes off, paint where it doesn't.

    What a mess!!! But how beautiful, the little part of her expressed on paper, that hangs on the wall.

    Thank you again, Christopher.

    Gassho,
    Matt

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