buddha board

We have this thing at our house called a Buddha Board. It's pretty cool, really. Here's how it works: Take the paintbrush, dip it in water and paint a picture on the board. The board magically turns black with the water. But don't get too attached--as the water on the board dries, the painted image disappears!

The theory behind this, according to the printed materials that came with the board, is to practice mindfulness. Learn to let go. Appreciate what you've created and then allow it to dissolve into oblivion.

I like this theory. I like to use the Buddha Board to just paint whatever comes out with minimal editing. Then I like to look at the image for awhile, to absorb it rather than critique it, though that can be quite difficult sometimes. It's nice to be able to create something, appreciate it for what it is, and then to acknowledge that I will never see it again.

But! That was not the lesson from the Buddha Board tonight. Tonight as I was painting, I decided to try an experiment. I noticed some of the water dripping down the board. So I added a streak of water at the top to watch where it ran. It reminded me slightly of rain on a car window.

I remember on family car rides watching the rain drop patterns on the car windows. It seemed that the new drops of rain always followed the easiest path--the one that had already been created by previous rain drops. It was the same with the water on the Buddha Board. I found myself trying to add more water to "uncarved" areas, but most of the time the drops found their way to a carved path. However, those that did manage to forge a new path ended up changing the picture quite significantly.

Tonight, what was meant to be a painting acted as a mirror. I too would most of the time rather slide down a path that has already been smoothed out for me. It can be very difficult to go into new territory and deal with the friction that we inevitably find there. But, I realize, sometimes when I don't follow exactly what is expected or "planned" for me by myself or others, the result can be just as interesting, if not more so, than the picture already painted.

Sometimes it is nice to slide though.