Sublime

Historically, Rites of Passage were used to mark and give meaning to a person’s transition from one status to another. The transition we’re marking is the shift from dependency to autonomy, from reliant child to responsible adult. In the transition ritual, sacred wisdom was passed on by a tribal elder.

WABI SABI is in many ways like the bittersweet taste of the last strawberry in this old Zen tale. It is an expression of the beauty that lies in the brief transition between the coming and going of life, both the joy and melancholy that make up our lot as humans.

Although usually understood to mean “birth and death,” it means “wandering,” as in wandering through birth and death.

But out of all the secrets of the river, he saw only one today, and it touched his soul. He saw that this water ran and ran incessantly, and nevertheless was always there at all times, the same and yet new every moment! The one who grasped this and understood this was great! He did not understand and grasp it, but felt some inkling of it stirring,

Like it or not, you and your life will be over in the wink of an eye – gone like a puff of smoke. I personally believe that I’ll live on with my Lord into eternity, but you may not believe the same – no judgment here. My point is that whichever way you believe, you will leave this place one day, and all of your “stuff” will move on to others.

To be human, according to this analogy, is to occupy a little one-person kayak, borne along on the river of time towards your inevitable yet unpredictable death.