Ikebana is the Japanese art and spiritual practice of arranging flowers in a way that you are present to the beauty of nature and living things. The simplicity of line and form in motion provide a focus point for meditative practice.
This week started in a buzz. Our little one just started day care, the school year started and too many projects came at us at once. As August ended so ended our summer leisure. Schedules needed to be made, time now was run by a clock and not the whisper of August winds and rain showers.
Today I came home from my bike trip to day care, having delivered our only child. As we all still try to adopt to these new times of separation I tried to sort all the projects I needed to get done at my desk in the few “free” hours available before I have to pick up my daughter at noon.
Time slots help one not to feel overwhelmed. I learned this from the Benedictines. To live the work life from prayer to prayer. The daily liturgy helps to structure the day.
So I allowed myself a coffee break for some quiet. I even made time for my ikebana morning ritual I had established during the summer month: walking the gardens quietly and picking a few flowers to arrange in vases and vessels throughout the house.
Today there was only little time. Time for one vessel. So I went outside without haste, doing all of my garden walk and picking in the same pace, just less of it. In the end I had some beautiful cut flowers in my hand, which I arranged in a small vessel on the kitchen counter.
The beautiful arrangement sits now on my desk, reminding me of the gift of time, and of the need to breathe.
Chuck once gave a sermon recalling the words of Saint Francis de Sales: “Meditate every day a half hour. When you are particularly busy a whole hour is necessary.” :-)
So in my flower arranging, I guess I have adopted that time scale to the Japanese art of Ikebana. It is a practice of connecting yourself before you get onto what needs to be done. It is a practice to connect to nature before you get in front of a screen. It is a practice which allows the breath to slow down the rushing pace of fear. It is a practice of being present to beauty now which creates evidence of God’s goodness in a small vessel for you to remember throughout the day.
So here is a short poem Chuck wrote after reading this post. Take it for your midweek blessing.
If you have only 10 minutes to garden
Arrange three flowers beautifully
If you have only a few minutes for prayer
pray a short prayer very slowly
If you have only a moment to arrange your thoughts
Arrange just one with calm care
If you have only a second
Breathe.
Do not not pray when you are busy
Make your prayer the center of the day
and the remains of the day will be sanctified.