zen

The Wisdom of a Glass Half Full

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Wine!

You will say, “Alright already, fill the glass up.  Who wants to be cheated with half a glass?”

The more moderate of you will say, “Of course half full is good.  That is the middle way.”

This post is not about the crazy wisdom of over doing it, or the middle way, but something else.

Bring your ear closer and I will tell you a story:

There was this university professor who knew everything about Zen.  And now some of you may be thinking why is she talking about Zen again?  Because Zen is like that magical trout slippery fish that always gets away.

Bear with me awhile…

So this university professor was well learned about all things Zen and went and saw this Zen monk to tell him what he knew. The monk listened politely as this professor went on and on about all of these things.  And as is custom, the monk was serving tea.  The professor held out his cup, all the while talking, expounding his great knowledge.  All of a sudden the professor noticed that his hand was getting wet from the monk overflowing his tea cup.

“Ah! Stop!” He said.

The monk put down the teapot.

“Why did you do that?” the professor asked.

“How can I give you any more knowledge when you already know everything?” the monk replied; wiping his hand on a clean, linen cloth.

This idea is really about what we think we know versus what we don’t.  Do we think we know everthing?  Of course not. But we do have our ideas about things. And they get in the way.  We assume things.  Because of our conditioning.

Karen Swim developed a beautiful post about assumptions.  Please read it to understand how you mind can actually act as a roadblock instead of a tool to help you move forward.

If you do not operate with an open mind, with a mind as open and vast as space, you will cling to the things that bind you.

And these attachments will hold you down and hinder your thought processes, and so of course, your writing – or your photography, or whatever art form you practice.

I think that operating with a full mind with hamper you in all types of art forms, but I have most noticed it in the realm of fiction.  If you try to force yourself on your characters they balk and become flat.

And a full mind will flatten things until they are lifeless.

If you can bring yourself to the place that says “I don’t know,” you will enjoy the wisdom of a glass half full.  You will be set free of everything you think you know and how it should go.

Thank you very much.

Photocredit: © Ellen Wilson

Smoking Weeds

by
Isle Royale Lake Richie, copyright Ellen Wilson

house of reeds
where plovers sleep
plastered with crap

Kobayashi Issa

I was going to write something all esoteric and languid about how the reeds were reflected in the lake and the sky simultaneously and was looking up some haiku to accomplish this feat, when this poem by Issa came flying up through the centuries and plopped itself on the page.

Or should I say, pooped itself on the page.

I’m sure Issa is having a good laugh.

Yes, there is a light side to things, and a dark side to things, and that is why we laugh. To get us through it all. What if we never laughed? How depressing would that be? So if you are depressed, please, start laughing right now, and it will kick start the happy chemicals in your brain.

I thought of The Deep Friar and his meditative posters. That is what got me going on all of this. Friar is very funny and I’m sure they will soon promote him to Section Humor Head at the Widget Factory.  Satire is the name of his game.  And isn’t satire a little dark?  But it is oh so tasty and honest.

And I was thinking of Bob Younce, author of The Writing Journey, when I wrote this. Because he wrote an excellent piece on How Life in Unfair. And it is. Even when we want it to be.

But if life didn’t have this dark side, how could we know the light side?

So I quit smoking today. And it is Beltane. Day of renewal. And this is as good as time as ever. I like symbolism, and surely you get it. I will now be renewing my dark lungs.

I told my friend, Amy Derby, over at Write at Home, ’cause she has been through it all, and I’m sure she will be supportive.  It all really started with her, and the synchronicity of quitting smoking couldn’t have been better.  Thanks Amy!

And because I’m a bad liar?  You will know if I smoke again.

My daughter and I broke the cigs over the trash can – symbolically breaking their strength over me. The same gesture I went through with my son 10 years ago.

And If my husband, Mike, is reading this – I know he will be proud.

My friend, Brett Legree, over at 6 Weeks says, “Fail Early, and Fail Often.”

So never quit quitting.

Photocredit: © Ellen Wilson