Life fills us up when we quit believing we must be the compensation for fear-driven loss. And it fills up those we think we’re responsible for. Guess what? It does it even when we’ve left, when we’ve given up, when we’ve tossed it all at the feet of “fate” and said: “I have to live…”
On with it…
J. Ruth Kelly 
I am reading a book of quite delightful and exciting Zen stories. In one of the stories a passage describes the setting and ritual of the tea ceremony. I fell into tears upon reading it. The beauty, simplicity, and depth of their way of life and all the expressions it produces draws me immensely. Their poetry is breathtaking (I used to think of haiku as trite. But, reading them, my eyes were soaked in tears, my heart with smiles). I have been quite emotional of late. Watts’ book has thrown me into a turmoil such as I have never experienced before. He tells of a Hindu sage who, being asked what is that he first teaches Western man, answers: I teach him to cry. It feels right…
You boil water
Soak the tea
And drink it…
That’s all you need to know.
–Rikyu
tears are well-learned, richly known here both for sorrow and joy…
turmoil…it’s good for the soul…especially if it’s born of something other than fear…i imagine your upheaval is the sort felt when discovering a whole new layer of depth richer than any soil yet known and the roots are screaming out a bit of relief, shock to find there’s so much more…maybe even frustration with having been hindered before…but you’ll settle more deeply into who you are because of it…
i always felt haiku was just too simplistic and a bit contrived but decided to try to put my own pound into it. i don’t know that i like it much better but it seems to be insisting on itself since my energy doesn’t give me much room for my otherwise usual rampant poetic “style” lately.
boil water…soak the tea…our lives need a bit of ceremony, of thoughtful poise in the midst of a world otherwise chaotically grasping at empty convenience, no?
peace…
What a beautiful still life, Jruth. I am thinking that this is the blue pitcher you told me about in a previous post. Yes, I think it looks capable of pouring life! Awesome post….
thanks leslie… i love these blues and the pitcher supreme. it touches my soul for so many reasons. isn’t the color of life so wonderful?
Reminds me of warm tea in cold winter 🙂
earl grey…constant comment…jasmine…green tea… my faves. i have this thing for pottery with the major rounded curves and lustreware teasets… 🙂