Painting Spring

Right where you stand,
is the valley of endless spring.
- Dogen

Left home at a very young age for the West, I was determined to see the world and live a life of my own. My parents were heartbroken, yet nothing could stop me from setting out to explore the world. Like a little river on the mountaintop, I wanted to see and swim in the vast ocean! For as long as I could remember, I had incessantly searched for a paradise outside of myself, believing that it was somewhere on the other side of the horizon. Yet, even after traveling to so many stunning lands, I never arrived, nor was I ever content where I was for long, until one day I arrived at the refuge of Thay’s teachings.

I came to learn that I really had no need to run or to search. All I needed to do was simply be present with what was right in front of me, here and now, with my breath and my whole being. I learned to breathe. I learned to walk. I learned to be with the natural enviornment. I learned to be with myself.

Mindfulness has taught me to live life deeply—whenever I am able to—and helped me touch the wonders of life all around me and within me, something I had dreamed of being able to do since a young teenager. I feel so blessed to finally have a tiny taste of living that dream, a dream that does not require much wealth or great success, but the freedom of being able to simply live life deeply and beautifully.

Smiles often bloom on my face as I discover the wonders of life around me. Thanks to the practice, the world has once again been revealed beautifully to me. The practice has helped me see, hear, touch, and just be with life. As I began to see miracles every day and everywhere, I began to touch the child inside me and to create the way I did when I was a kid. I delight in the child-like freedom of expressing my experiences and feelings without worrying about being perfect or being judged. I try to remember always that I am a child of Mother Earth and how I love her and wish to protect her in every way that I can.

I have happily arrived home, here on Earth. I have touched and painted endless spring.


true faith fragrance