Zen Koan: Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water.
Knitting Koan: Before enlightenment; knit, rip, knit, rip. After enlightenment; knit, rip, knit, rip.
In life, as in knitting, enthusiasm, patience and persistence lead to mastery.
Although the subtitle of my blog is "musings on fiber, knitting and the meaning of life", I haven't included much about the last.
This got me thinking, on the way to LACMA the other day, "What is the meaning of life?"
Like "Beauty", the "Meaning of Life" is completely subjective. Personal values and beliefs come into play and although religions try to tell us the meaning of life, NO ONE really knows for sure. Minds much greater than my own have spent lifetimes contemplating the answer to The Question, and countless volumes have been written trying to persuade others to what is still a personal choice.
My own answer goes something like this:
The meaning of life is to create beauty.
I believe that each individual chooses his/her own meaning and that is mine.
Beyond that, I believe there is also a purpose for "Life". Not individual life, but Life itself, from the tiniest elemental energy to the universe and beyond, I believe that all of creation is expanding, becoming aware of itself, and creating.
And so each individual adds to the expansion. We, as creatures with free will, choose to create beauty or darkness, order or chaos, love or evil. No matter what we choose, we add indelibly to all that is.
What do you think?
One of my 3rd grade Sunday School students once said that when she wondered whether God exists, she wondered who else could have come up with kitty faces.
