MEDITATION: A Paradox
“What makes a fire burn is the space between the logs”
-Judy Sorum Brown
Technician at work from Crawford Casting, Sydney
Space and open pauses are essential to a meaningful life. In a world full of interruptions and distraction, creating space for introspection and inquiry is vital – even if it may feel unsettling initially.
For me, there are strong parallels between creativity and the path of living an engaged spiritual life grounded in everyday reality. One of my great loves is the alchemical process of sculpting in the medium of wax and casting the artwork in bronze. Sculpting is an active process of weaving together ideas, impulses, skill, patience, curiosity and willingness to let go of an ideal outcome. Like meditation, creative work is not all about relaxation. It is alive and unpredictable. Creating such a work is a fine balance of attention, introspection and openness to the constantly changing elements. Fire, air, earth, and water are required for each stage of the sculpture to take shape. Heat is necessary to carve into the hard wax when it’s cold; cool air and negative spaces are required to hold the form when the wax becomes too pliable, and great bursts of air and intense heat to fuel the flames that will transform metal to a liquid. Rest and time to pause enable the molten liquid to cool and solidify into a new form. The above image shows the casting technicians at a critical moment pouring liquid bronze into the empty mould of my wax sculpture’. Their mastery in building the temperature of the metal to form a liquid of the exact consistency required to pour into the space of an empty mould was astonishing to observe. Intense temperature, intentional pauses and breathing spaces, skill in action and heightened awareness all came together in a symbiotic experience with a powerful presence
The balanced elements of air, wood and heat are required to make a good fire. The paradox of fuel and the absence of fuel together are what make fire possible. Making fire requires kindling, open space for air to circulate, and a spark to ignite the fire…then, we only need a subtle increase in heat from time to time to keep it going. A fire grows our creativity, our digestion, our warmth and our connection. A fire grows simply because space is there, with openings in which the flame knows just how it wants to burn can find its way. In the same way, when the gaps or pauses interrupt what is comfortable or familiar to us, the potential for change, insight or assimilation can occur.
Recently I discovered this excellent poem, Fire by Judy Sorum Brown. It points to the balance of effort and effortlessness and the need to intentionally create the spaces in our life to allow insight and wisdom to shine through. Space is not no-thing and is mostly overlooked. Here is an excerpt from Fire…
What makes a fire burn
Is the space between the logs,
a breathing space.
Too much of a good thing,
too many logs
packed too tight
can douse the flames
almost as surely
as a pail of water would.
So building fires
requires attention
to the spaces in between,
as much as to the wood…
'Attention to the spaces in between' is wise advice, don't you agree? But how tempting it can be to fill the spaces or ignore them entirely by taking refuge in the flow of our incessant mental chatter and compelling to-do lists. Even if we notice what is happening, the magnetic pull of distraction and discomfort more easily pulls us away. We've had several recent lockdown experiences to get in touch with that feeling of our physical movement slowing down while our minds and future plans spin onward. Many have described these spaces as bewildering, lonely and disorientating. There’s a restless drive to do something about the discomfort and anxiety induced by such a sudden de-escalation of activity and fill that space – pack those logs on the fire as swiftly as possible.
There is a madness in the world resulting from consuming and living too fast, forcing us to function without time to reflect upon the outcomes of our choices and responses. Victor Frankl’s poignant quote elucidates that ‘in between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” When entered with awareness, curiosity and receptivity, such spaces inevitably invite a fresh perspective.
A window of opportunity opens if we can have confidence in the value of pausing and to quote Pema Chodron, not freaking out and giving up when faced with listening to our fearful mind. A few moments of intentional presence will reveal that all of life is in flux – always moving, constantly changing. Space is never ‘nothing’. Initially, it might feel like space is empty, that nothing is happening. When we look up at the night sky, there are dark, seemingly empty spaces between the stars. There is a mystery there. Our Australian indigenous people consider this space to be 'living country'. For Aboriginal people, the English word 'country' includes living landforms, plants, elements and sky dreaming. They are alive and hold the stories, medicines, foods and past, present and future spiritual ancestry.
Space is full of potential, complexity and subtlety that can’t be seen with the naked eye. Awareness is the ventilation that can clear the cycle of fearful thoughts. Anxiety and unchecked thoughts dim our mental clarity - similarly, light pollution dims the contrast of our night sky. Unfortunately, a panoramic view of the situation is not an option when there is too much wood on the fire.
Something deep within us calls for us to rest our mind, touch sacred presence, incubate our insights and vision, expand our perception beyond 'me', and 'myself' to include our interconnectedness with all life. The whole of life – just as it presents to us moment to moment.
Meditation is the container or boundary that protects the spaces, the breath between our thoughts and emotions. There is no point in practising with a plan or expectation of a specific outcome. Meditating with an openness to possibility is kindling for the fire. Not struggling to get it right or trying to get rid of thoughts is knowing them to be one too many logs that might extinguish the fire. Simply turning up and entering the meditation space just as you are- messy, confused, joyful or peaceful- is a prayer that ignites the wisdom of the heart. It opens space for the fire to burn, for wisdom and insight to shine through.
The Buddhist teachings on impermanence(anicca) are powerful contemplations for me. This moment, this day, will never come again. It is precious to be here every day. Life will go on with or without us being present to it, though. Our lives are shaped by experience and what we make of it.
What is something that has shaped your life – that has shaped who you are?
Where have you allowed space for the fire to burn?
How would you like to live now?
Our lives are shaped by experience and what we make of it.
What is something that has shaped your life – that has shaped who you are?
Where have you allowed space for the fire to burn?.