Last week was a whirlwind of a visit to Los Angeles for work and fun. I took in Randy Rainbow at the Wiltern with some friends and was able to see my work office (they moved many years ago and I've never visited…boo me). Great food: Noma in Santa Monica, Korean tofu bowl in Torrance, Little Fatty off Venice. All good stuff. Visited friends as well. Saw the Edgar the Winter Dog.
But two trips in a row really depleted me. As does the energy now in LA tax me sometimes. But I still love it there and this trip was full of bittersweet nostalgia.
The Prompt: Competition
This week's prompt:
"A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms."
– Zen Shin
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:
Flowers on the hill
race for light but they give seeds
for acres, for free.
The Reflection
Not to nitpick but plants and trees technically do compete for light and water. But according to the novel The Overstory and maybe some scientific evidence, trees at least are very cooperative with their underground root systems, possibly sharing resources via connecting roots. So you could argue that all trees are one tree. But who hasn't seen flowers with greater advantage run ram-shod over slow growers? In any case, the point of the quote is probably not to do with this technicality. Flowers are not consciously pushy-shovey. And so to the naked eye, they look more preoccupied with their each individual jams. They're not backstabbing each other overtly anyway. The point is: focus on your own bloom, not everyone elses.
Now you.
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