Castles Made of Sand

Do you remember those Tibetan monks who visited Rochester years ago? They made a painting in sand at the Memorial Art Gallery, working slowly and carefully, grain by grain, to create a detailed image over the course of several days. There was time allotted for public viewing, and I think there was some kind of ceremony.

Then they swept it all up and dumped it in the river.

It baffled me at the time. Now, I get it. The transitory nature of reality, the impermanence of life, is real. As I swept my previous blog posts into a little pile and deleted them a few weeks ago, the monks came to mind. So did a Jimi Hendrix lyric: And so castles made of sand slip in the sea, eventually. Working hard and creating something beautiful has to be its own reward. Then you let it go. Anyway, after reading another blog, I’m starting this one over, grain by grain.