Roshi Egyoku: Trust your awakening.
On the one hand, we desire comfort which leads to complacency, compliance, consumerism. On the other hand, we desire excitement, to heed David Bowie’s suggestion to try the deeper waters. Will we be spectators in life? or pARTicipants?
To help ease our discomfort as we move a bit out of our depth, Roshi Egyoku advises: “Embrace Not-knowing. Listen deeply to all that arises. Be curious about what arises. Continually deepen self-awareness. Keep orienting to the whole. Trust your awakening.”
As makers of art, writing, music and more; as Art Predators, those who seek that which engages the whole soul, and as Compassionate Rebels, those who hear the cries of the world: this is great advice, a process we can follow.
Whenever we are uncertain, we can accept it as part of ourselves that’s learning and growing. We can listen to our fears and ask questions about what arises to discover hidden parts of ourselves and become more self aware as we move toward wholeness. And during each step, each tentative, squishy, messy, scary, airy step, trust our own process.
What do you take away from this quote? How does it inform you about your own life and artistic process? (If you use the image and quote in your own blog post or writing, be sure to give credit and link back to both the artist and this blog post).
Detail from “White Tara” by Leslie Rinchen-Wongmo, one of the only westerners trained in the rare Buddhist art of silk applique thangkas, a Tibetan cultural tradition. His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave his blessings to Leslie’s work and encouraged her to make images that speak to the spiritual aspirations of people across religions and cultures. These Weekly Wake-ups provide a thread of inspiration to set the week on the path to awakening.
PS Happy birthday, Kari!
art predator 
Words mean different things and in art sometimes “comfort” has gained (wrongly, I think) a bad connotation. Of course I say this because I’m aware in my art of its having a longing for comfort. The subjects I paint are ones that have comforting associations for me — and I suspect the subjects
oops, I blame the “send” button
… I suspect that the subjects I paint have comforting associations for the spectator. But there is a rigor that I seek in my art, something that is separate from its subject. The comforting subject can pose an artistic challenge in its depiction. Seeking that challenge definitely takes me outside my comfort zone. The challenge that depiction offers can be thrilling. I used to dread a difficult task, but (at least as far as art is concerned) I now love things that are hard. I purposely seek the hard things — the challenging way of portraying the comforting subject matter ….