Sumi-e of Life....Love

There is Love in the air....As Valentine's day is approaching, I thought I would write about Love. There is only one word for Love in  English, but there are many different forms of it. I am writing about the one,  all encompassing,  Universal Love.

My last blog post ( Tao Te Ching, verse 25) was about Lao Tzu's admiration of Tao...the recognition of its greatness. Tao is a concept that is very difficult to understand logically. One can only get little insights into the nature of it. At this point in  my learning Tao,  through Tao Te Ching and life, or learning Life, through Tao, I seem to agree with the view, that it is a force that flows through all life. It is in harmony with  Nature and is the source of everything in the Universe.....what a better way of describing Love!

We are aware of this Love when we are walking in nature, when we are quiet within, detached from constant mind chatter, .....and of course, when we create.

I think all so called “negative” emotions, are the result of loss, separation from this Universal harmony.  All feelings are a part of life, but the awareness of this disharmony can help us to reconnect and realign ourselves.... find the Love from  within and without.

Sumi-e ( Japanese brush painting) in particular, is a form of the artist's self expression, with deep appreciation for the oneness of self and the world around. It is the understanding that everything is the expression of that Universal Love, camouflaged by its unique physical appearances. The mastery of the Sumi-e artist, is the ability to recreate this coexistence of completely different energies (physical and metaphysical) within the subject matter..... bringing out the essence of it.

I think Love is the meaning and the core of life. We are in this world to experience and play with its different manifestations.

Happy Valentine's day!

You are welcome to my  Sumi-e gallery.