I’ve been struggling with an equipment meltdown of a new camera not working, as well as the mental rigors of back to back to back international travel leaving me bereaved of inspiration.
Sleepless nights worrying myself about all kinds of nonsense, knowing all too well my exceptional need for everything to be perfect. Quite fittingly, Karmapa has been teaching us about patience. His teachings have been an arrow directly to my aching heart. Exactly what I needed to hear, yet hard to hear nonetheless. He told us how the Buddha tried for six years to make order from suffering but found it impossible. Instead he needed to learn to live with it, to let it breath and move on its own. Working with chaos tames the mighty beast. He said that acceptance and patience are indeed one and the same. When we are patient, we have space, space brings understanding, understanding leads to acceptance. Acceptance brings real change to your heart and mind. Upon hearing these words I felt a strong weight lifted off of me, and to my surprise my camera started to work perfectly. I actually began to enjoy the work I love so much, instead of the heavy burden it previously had been. My physical world was transformed by nothing more than a little space to let things just be as they are. The chaos was tamed all by itself. Patience brought inspiration. Chaos gave way to art. Patience brought space to change my world completely. Tonight I will sleep like a baby.
