Blow It Off

Sand Artists are a breed of Artist that simply blow my mind away. I was researching some of their work on line and awed at the dedication and creativity. But the work is ephemeral, it is temporary. No matter how beautiful the work is, nature comes in the form of rain, wind, sea, snow etc and washes it all away, nothing last forever they say and you wonder ‘why bother going through all that trouble?’ Most finish their work, stand by and watch as the elements washes away the work and it’s gone. Someone was telling me yesterday about a ritual where Tibetan Monk Sand Artists come together produce Sand Mandalas, they don’t wait for the elements to grab it from them, they actually jointly blow it all away! And we gasp, because like that it is all gone! A sand Artist Kobe Williams succinctly articulated the essence of this art when he said that these arts remains more in our spirit than in our home …. Wow! That was an aha aha moment for me, no element can touch that which is stored in the spirit. It has been created, it can not be uncreated, but it does not have to be physically present to continue to exist, we cause ourselves so much pain when we do not understand the timing, the transition from the physical to the spirit. Imagine the pain of a Sand Artist that stands vigil and guard, doing all in his power to prevent the erosion of his physical work, a futile and fruitless effort showing a lack of understanding of the true storage of the things of this life. The scripture admonishes us not to store our treasures where moth and rust corrupt. In this world everything without exception tends to corruption.

I couldn’t help thinking of this in light of relationships. Some relationships if not all are ephemeral, it is the length of time that differs. In the true sense there is no everlasting but we still hold on tightly like our existence depends on them. I want to be careful as I present this because it could be misunderstood and misconstrued that I am advocating that we nilly willy discard relationships. Not at all, but I am still saying some relationships are simply like sand art and once it has done it’s work we must blow it away, yes blow it away and store the beautiful memories of it in our spirit, when we don’t do that we allow the elements to grab it from us and we are distraught. Elements in this form can be abuse, desertion, neglect, toxicity etc. I have read, heard and seen people who stopped living when life removes people from their lives, when the elements washes away the sand. I have heard of romantic partners that commit suicide or end up in mental institutions because a relationship ends. Some don’t fair as badly but stop thriving and spend endless amount of time depressive, sobbing and lost. Please stay with me on this, this is a very difficult write up and I know I am touching on some raw nerves and hitting very sensitive issues. I am not advocating people end their marriages, do not work at important but trying relationships or toss their relatives under the bus but I am saying there are times we must let go. Circumstances, discernments, honesty, bravery will tell us when those times apply. I understand our attachment to love ones and the grieving period that ensues when we are separated from them and we can not just lackadaisically compare people to sand art work but I will like us to see where we can borrow a leaf from the book of these artist so that in our spirit (where no rust or moth can corrode) we can continue to hold on dearly to what is precious to us whilst accepting the inevitable physical end where it applies . And maybe we can gently blow off some relationships before it becomes toxic whilst we still have some beauty to hold on to in our memories.