We have company from Kansas here this week and we've been having a lot of fun tooling around Albuquerque (eating lots of salsa). This is a good prompt for me this week. How do I see ABQ with new eyes when visitors come?
The Prompt: Open Field
Again this week's prompt comes from the Zen by the Brush book by Myoshi Nancy O'Hara.
"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities;
In the experts there are few"
– Shunryu Suzuki
And again, first task is to sit for a meditation on that for 5-10 minutes or however long you feel is good to you.
The Drawing
My Haiku
…inspired by my drawing:
Imagine the trees
of green possibility
in an open field
The Reflection
This might just be one of my favorite Zen quotes. We live in a time where everyone's identity is wrapped up in what they know and lording that knowledge over everyone else or really wanting to prove something. And believe me, I'm right there in the middle of it. I'm a real Hermione Granger myself. But you can get really tangled up in what you think you know. And isn't it amazing what genius ideas beginners come up with? Because they have no preconceived expertise. They have no prejudices around what wont work and ideas around limits. We're so proud of what we know and much of the time, this is our handicap.
I'm constantly trying to tell myself "shut up and forget what you know." Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
Now, you go.
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