A Pause For Beauty
We Are Each Conduits Of Water
An old man accidentally fell into rapids above a high and dangerous waterfall. Onlookers feared for his life. Miraculously, he came out alive and unharmed downstream at the bottom of the falls. When asked to explain his survival, he explained:
“Plunging into the whirl, I come out with the swirl. I accommodate myself to the water, not the water to me. And so I am able to deal with it after this fashion. . . I was born upon the land. . . and accommodated myself to dry land. That was my original condition. Growing up with the water, I accommodate myself to the water.”
- Chuang-tzu, a fourth-century B.C. Taoist sage.
The river has a life itself. One of the reasons I like to paddle is that when the paddle comes out of the water, the water drips back off, and it constantly reminds me that the river is made up of zillions of these little drops, living together, working together. It is not just this big thing immune to my minor abuses, but these little individual drops. I often feel that the boundary between me and the river is pretty slight. I have little individual drops in me, whether it’s the tear out of my eye, my saliva, urine, semen –- we all have these little drippings. We are all microcosms. I am a water maker. My tears mingle with the waters of the river, and then, to replenish myself, I drink of the river. So I can make more tears and saliva. The cycles of connection between life and the river go on and on.
– Leaf Myczack, A Voice For A River, (Issue 16, Heron Dance interview)
Brimming Water
Under my feet the moon
Glides along the river.
Near midnight, a gusty lantern
Shines in the heart of night.
Along the sandbars flocks
Of white egrets roost.
Each one clenched like a fist.
In the wake of my barge
The fish leap, cut the water,
And dive and splash.
- Tu Fu (713-770), translated by Kenneth Rexroth, One Hundred Poems From The Chinese
. . .
A draft of the newest chapter of my upcoming book,
Living a creative life involves an element of the sacred
the latest draft of the entire book:
Creating A Life Worth Living:
The Gentle Arts Of Living And Creating On Your Own Terms
There will be many revisions prior to publication, projected for November.