In Buddhist Land

I recently returned from a retreat - WO FO YO O, which was an art and mindfulness retreat at Blue Cliff Monastery, founded by Thich Nhat Hahn who also has a Monastary in California, and one in France (Plum Village)

I won't get into my life history here, that is on my other blog, but it was a life-changing experience.

In one of the workshops we did periods of meditation, followed by making art.

While meditating, I kept perseverating about what I was going to make. Abstract? Landscape? Color?

I let these thoughts go in and then out of my head, and briefly opened my eyes and then closed them. The image that was etched into my mind when I closed them inspired the watercolor

Whether a trick of light or of my mind, I went with it and made this sketch.

Later on that evening, we put all of our artwork in a circle in the meditation hall for all to see. Many people, many of them the sisters of the monastery, took my sketchbook and carefully looked through the watercolors and drawings I had done of the Catskills.

I was honored by their rapt attention to the work, and their admiration of it.

All these years I have been seeking the approval of my father who told me I was not good enough, and have worked so hard to prove him wrong. Here I realized that all along I got an A+ from the universe and all is good.

Patti