With three rocks from our collection of geological treasures and a piece of wood I cut teeth into, Joey discovered the art of the Zen garden in our own little sandbox! Traditional Japanese meditation gardens capture the essence of nature through minimalist use of the elements - stones, raked gravel, and a few carefully chosen plants.
Joey placed the three rocks with a great eye for design! Upon completing the raking, Joey commented that it needed more. I said to her, "These days, we live in a world where we always seem to want more, but really what we need to do is learn to live with less."
I introduced her to the thinking behind the Zen garden. The minimalist approach encourages one to find the most beauty in an object, in the experience. The form and color of the earth elements, their arrangement, their relationship to each other, their connection to our own life experiences, from these are derived the beauty of nature. We learn to appreciate the smallest yet most meaningful moments of our everyday life.
"You ask me why I dwell in the green mountain; I smile and make no reply for my heart is free of care. As the peach blossom which flows downstream and is gone into the unknown, I have a world apart that is not among men." -- Li Po
4 comments:
We did something we rarely do today - go to a big shopping centre - which screamed at us "MORE, MORE, MORE", such an assault to the senses. Thank you for a little Zen in my day :-)
Good morning Rick
Thank you for sharing this post. I found a sandbox similar to this at a market and have filled it with sand to help Aaron and Olivia with forming their letters and the odd form drawing they struggle with. I would love to change the experience to this for a day. Less is more. You are right. I try to make things more simpler as I live my life with my family. That is one great blessing Waldorf education and philosphy has given us. You need so little to be happy. I am so grateful for our garden and the nature around us to be our playing field.
Have a peaceful day
Warm regards
Suzanne
truly a beautiful and inspiring post, thank you for sharing this light! what a wonderful way to bring about peace and meditation for children and adults as well! When my oldest was doing form drawings we spent time in the sand making forms with a stick. how lovely this would be to add a wooden rake to sand as well. it is incredible how sand and water brings about such imaginative play and connection to nature.
Hey Ricky,
Just wanted to pop in to say that I love your blog... I get such peace when I visit and a great motivation to keep on trying.
I have added you to my blogroll so that others might get this gift too.
Blessings and magic.
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