“Should we look at the spring blossoms only in full flowers, at the moon only when cloudless and clear “? Yoshida Kenkō as quoted by Beth Kempton in Wabi Sabi – Japanese wisdom for a perfectly imperfect life.
My drawing doesn’t have to be beautiful or perfect, and not only because nothing is beautiful or perfect always, but because there is beauty to discover in the imperfect lines and colours, there is still beauty in life when everything seems to fall apart or decay as it naturally happens in life. My roses and my small cherry tree are still worth having in my garden and being looked at even after the flowers have rotten on their branch and all leaves have fallen leaving behind bare and only apparently death branches, there is still beauty in them hidden away from sight but it can still be felt by a heart that can stay still and in silent contemplation of wonders of life.
My, all, words are imperfect, my drawings are imperfect and clumsy attempts at translating what the heart experiences when it connects with life.
The purpose of drawing a Mandala, the deep and true purpose is in the process of creating something one line at the time.
Chasing a result will shift the attention from the enjoyment of the process in the present moment to the waiting for a result to feel joy where no result is guaranteed.
The outcome whatever will be is only a possibility, not the reason.
I enjoy and trust the process and let go of expectations. Sometimes, something beautiful might emerge. Sometimes nothing worthy of notice, except to my eyes, will emerge but for me, it is still worthy of my time and efforts. There is beauty, still, in an imperfect and at the eye of the rest of the world even ugly drawing.
Breathing and drawing one simple line, enjoying the process beyond the result is liberating, it is living in the present moment for the present moment. If I chase a success life will be a continuous wait for something that will last just a few fleeting moments. Instead, I choose to give my full attention and feel joy, deep and true, while creating a single Mandala and this is all that really matters.
I dared myself to screw up, to fill the white spaces of my last Mandala with oil colours barely contained within the lines, because if I want to live from the heart, with colour and courage and mistakes, because nothing really stay still for even a moment and then why should we get attached to anything at all? Detachment is not disrespect or disinterest but is the ability to keep a light hold on what we have in our lives without being dominated by it, without confusing a byproduct with a purpose. Goals we might pursue are in service of a well and fully lived life and not the purpose of life.
My Perfectly Imperfect Life 