I love this!
An eye catching poster (definitely NOT the above) at a local church as I drove by, something like:
“LIFE IS TOO SHORT, ETERNITY IS NOT”…
And another interpretation is, for me, this: Eternity is right here and now, right this very moment, this instant, is …eternity. Live it.
“Buddhism views the universe as a vast living entity, in which cycles of individual life and death are repeated without cease. We experience these cycles every day, as millions of the some 60 trillion cells that comprise our bodies die and are renewed through metabolic replacement. Death is therefore a necessary part of the life process, making possible renewal and new growth. Upon death our lives return to the vast ocean of life, just as an individual wave crests and subsides back into the wholeness of the sea. Through death, the physical elements of our bodies, as well as the fundamental life-force that supports our existence, are “recycled” through the universe. Ideally, death can be experienced as a period of rest, like a rejuvenating sleep that follows the strivings and exertions of the day.
Buddhism asserts that there is a continuity that persists over cycles of life and death, that our lives are, in this sense, eternal. As Nichiren wrote: “When we examine the nature of life with perfect enlightenment, we find that there is no beginning marking birth and, therefore, no end signifying death.”
(Courtesy October 1998 SGI Quarterly)
This painting caught my eyes in my recent visit to NYC.
STILL LIFE
Magic Realism where “Every day scenes are imbued with poetic mystery.”
Christina appears to live forever… artists are magicians. I stood marveling at the realism of Christina who appeared alive right there, before my eyes. Genius capturing the truth.
Beyond “nuances of light & shadow”…
CHRISTINA’S WORLD – She was limited physically but no means Spiritually… Challenge was to do justice to her extraordinary CONQUEST of LIFE which most people would consider hopeless.
