Monika's weekly inner voice drawings:
Q: What is today's wisdom?
A: "The key to keeping your balance is knowing when you have lost it."
- Anonymous
"A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your steps as you walk the tightrope of life."
- William Arthur Ward
Posts
If you think about it, the bird is the most appropriate symbol for balance, particularly if you equate balance with equanimity, the stability of mind. As I sat with this drawing, something interesting occurred. The bird seemed as if it were wrapping its left wing around a very pronounced white figure, a pianist who was performing the old Catalan melody `El Cant Dels Ocells’ (`The Song of the Birds’), which is typically a solo cello piece and which is a deeply introspective song about freedom. The pianist (or cellist) is the bird within and has the discipline required to master her instrument and perform in the company of and for others, and thus achieve freedom, is the balance/ equanimity of mind and body. How perfect again this image for Monika’s desire to convey balance!
ReplyDeleteAnd so, the bird, balanced in the perfect geometry of the bent reed, symbolizes the two aspects of equanimity: deep observation/ discernment, and the capacity to remain centered (stable) “in the middle of whatever is happening.” Psychologically, this means tolerating what’s intolerable, including and especially one’s inner conflicts arising as disturbing emotions and painful thoughts. Contrary to the instinctual gifts of the bird, balance as equanimity has to be developed and cultivated over time, and is the fulcrum of meditation practice. As the growing child learns to balance her body, the evolving adult learns to balance her mind. The flight of realization awaits her.
Balance is certainly one of the keys to a beautiful life. I often find myself dealing with the younger brother of balance - congruency. It seems to me that they are related, yet distinct. How about a drawing concerning congruency? Both are fleeting yet palpable, like happiness.
ReplyDeleteCongruency - that's an interesting thought. I'll give it a try. I have no idea what the drawing would look like, therefore it's the perfect task :)
ReplyDelete