Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,
Today I love to challenge you (again) with the prompt "time". We have seen this prompt several times earlier here at CDHK, but today it seems different. As you know we are on the Road to Santiago and while we are walking this road we are reading "The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho". On his Road to Santiago Paulo has a guide named Petrus who teaches him how to become in tune with the cosmos so to say.
Every pilgrimage is meant to be for spiritual growth and that spiritual growth is also the hidden meaning of our wonderful Japanese poetry like haiku and tanka. Through looking closely to our surroundings we become one with our surroundings, with nature. We not only live with nature we are part of nature.
As you all know we have four seasons (in ancient Japan they have a fifth season too "New Year") and with the seasons time passes by. So today we will look at time and how to experience time, or maybe I have to say "how to not experience time".
Maybe you can remember that we had a month with quotes from Khalil Gibran's "Sand and Foam". In one of the episodes I spoke about "time". A nice piece of poetry by Khalil Gibran. I love to share here again with you all.
And an astronomer said, "Master, what of Time?"
And he answered:
You would measure time the measureless and the immeasurable.
You would adjust your conduct and even direct the course of your spirit according to hours and seasons.
Of time you would make a stream upon whose bank you would sit and watch its flowing.
Yet the timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness,
And knows that yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream.
And that that which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within the bounds of that first moment which scattered the stars into space.
Who among you does not feel that his power to love is boundless?
And yet who does not feel that very love, though boundless, encompassed within the centre of his being, and moving not form love thought to love thought, nor from love deeds to other love deeds? And is not time even as love is, undivided and paceless?
But if in you thought you must measure time into seasons, let each season encircle all the other seasons,
And let today embrace the past with remembrance and the future with longing.
© Khalil Gibran
And an astronomer said, "Master, what of Time?"
And he answered:
You would measure time the measureless and the immeasurable.
You would adjust your conduct and even direct the course of your spirit according to hours and seasons.
Of time you would make a stream upon whose bank you would sit and watch its flowing.
Yet the timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness,
And knows that yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream.
And that that which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within the bounds of that first moment which scattered the stars into space.
Who among you does not feel that his power to love is boundless?
And yet who does not feel that very love, though boundless, encompassed within the centre of his being, and moving not form love thought to love thought, nor from love deeds to other love deeds? And is not time even as love is, undivided and paceless?
But if in you thought you must measure time into seasons, let each season encircle all the other seasons,
And let today embrace the past with remembrance and the future with longing.
© Khalil Gibran
Time. What is time? Do we need time? Yes we do I would say, but on the other hand I would say "No, we don't need time". Go with the flow, time is always on our side, we don't need to hurry. We will be on time always.
As you all know I have sometimes lack of time, but I always publish (if there are no technical problems of course) what I had planned to publish. And today that's no different.
Time ... In "The Pilgrimage" Petrus uses several exercises to learn Paulo. And today, that's why I titled this episode "time" we will look at an other exercise Paulo has to do.
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| the Road |
Before the start of this exercise "The Speed Exercise" Petrus says the following:
[...] ‘It’s going to be worse that way,’ he said, ‘because time isn’t something that always proceeds at the same pace. It is we who determine how quickly time passes.” [...] (source: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho)
In the Speed Exercise the goal is to really experience time by walking half as fast as you do normally. It's what sometimes is called "Saint Phitus-step". Let me try to explain that. The so called "Saint Phitus-step" means you have to do two steps forward and one back, two steps forward and one back. This will slow your walking speed. This way of walking makes you aware of time and as you start this you will think how to do it, but in a short time you don't have to think about it, it becomes an automatic way of walking.
Here is the description of the "Speed Excercise":
Walk for twenty minutes at half the speed at which you normally walk. Pay attention to the details,
people, and surroundings. The best time to do this is after lunch.
people, and surroundings. The best time to do this is after lunch.
This exercise teaches us to be part of our surroundings paying attention to details and so on. Isn't that what we do as haijin?
wandering along the sea
in the footprints left an oyster
shimmering of a pearl
© Chèvrefeuille
in the footprints left an oyster
shimmering of a pearl
© Chèvrefeuille
This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until January 19th at noon (CET).
PS. Tomorrow January 15th 2017 at 10.00 PM (CET) our Carpe Diem Spring Retreat will start ... feel free to be part of it and invite others to be part of it too.
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