Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Train Stations and Riding the Waves

We did not have a car during my early childhood years - and traveled by train, mostly to visit my grandmother. Even later on, I took the train a lot - from the small towns in Northern Germany, were we lived, all the way to Paris, Barcelona, San Sebastian, Lisboa. In Germany, pretty much any village was connected. I loved the going and coming, the picking up relatives from the station, the being in the compartments. ....
I loved traveling by train, loved the big steaming engines rolling in, the calling "Alle einsteigen - Zug faerhrt ab ...and...the whistle - the leaning out of the window, waving....
wow, really cool...
One thing too: if the departure time was, say 10:00 am - the train left the station at 10am. Pretty much you had to count on the trains being on time, and here is the big thing:  you were either on it - or not.
Missing a train, that's like missing your ticket for an adventure, a life, a world - trains are portals into other worlds. Train stations - transit stations.  Sure, there was another train later - but you might miss your connection. We did not miss trains in my family - not that I can remember.
But I did see a lot of  trains leave the station.

That train going somewhere - you are either on it or not - Riding a wave is a little bit like it - except you don't have a time table. There is something very similar though - the waves comes, you can catch it, or it catches you, you are willing and able to ride it and be on it - or not. If you miss it, it is gone. You fall off it, it's gone and you "stand" there seeing the tail end of it. No other wave will ever be the same, that world, that energy is no longer available. Sure, there may be other waves, but none like this one.

Not just water, a wave can be energy, inspiration, passion - unexplained non-stop inspiration and energy for a project. Ideas after ideas...and you ride it when that energy comes. You don't know why you can work for hours, non-stop. If for some reason you crash, any reason, you crash...then

- the wave passes and is gone. You end up  in a trough remembering, wondering, bereft, puzzled.

A crash like that is more painful and surprisingly despairing than I ever would have thought. Unexpected traps and clubs - or potholes - however you want to call it. Using high sense perception, I could even see the energy, it's shape, it's color it's movement. It was bigger than my physical body..it was amazing .

Then, instead of  mini tsunami waves of energy, a gazillion ideas and
inspiration, I sit there and there is nothing but grief and tears
and a big nothingness when it comes to even thinking about working on
this project. It's all gone. It really is like that: train left the station - nothing
else to do.

Whether you are in drama or not - the energy is gone....that's tangible.
And a realization that yes, there is grieving to be felt - so it will not get stuck.

Neither good nor bad - just a pause for thought: if one throws a wrench into someone's inspiration, into someone's surfing a wave - that's karma - either good or bad - you will have to live with the consequences. In fact, the world changes - tripping into a parallel world. Not that one world is meant to be and the other not - they are just different. Where you find yourself is different.

Words carry weight, non communication carries weight. Skillful means and self awareness as well as true benevolence is a rare find in humans. If you do find it - praise the Lord :)


Then you get ready for the next wave, not knowing  when it will come - one thing for sure though - if you are not there when it does, they don't wait - you're either on it or not.  In the meantime - you paddle....

cool sound
Steam Engine in Northern Germany

more cool sounds

I was surprised to find a fair number of footage from Northern German Train Stations.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Flute Art - a Zen Flute Art Homework

At the end of Advanced Zen Flute class number 9, we got an interesting homework assignment, in addition to working with our flutes: take the tube from of an empty paper towel roll and decorate it as a flute - don't make holes in it though.
This then could be call - paper towel cardboard transformation

Here are some samples from one of the participants, more to come soon - send your images in to worklife, no bigger than 600x400 pixels.
Flute Art - see more here  - or click on the image



Flute Art - see more

Wednesday, September 15, 2010