Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Meditating on an orchid

The meditation process can be achieved in a wide variety of ways from the most conventional to the most unusual. Recently I discovered that the process of drawing plants and then using watercolour pencils to add colour puts me into a very focused yet calm state of mind, and isn't that what meditation is all about. Today I spent a couple of hours drawing a spike of orchids (Cymbidium caniculatum) growing on a clump located outside our kitchen window. These orchids are native to our part of outback Queensland.

There are 44 buds on this one spike, all in different stages of unfurling -- from fully open to small tight buds. I know I've chosen a difficult subject but I want to record the intricate beauty before me, and as I focus I feel myself going deep into the heart of the orchid itself and there I drift in the calm -- -- --. Tiny black ants are scurrying up and down the flower spikes, harvesting nectar. Their frantic activity is in sharp contrast to how I feel after drawing the orchid on which they're feeding.

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