I left the hotel at 8:30 yesterday morning and with no cable cars in sight was forced to take a bus, a Muni #5 that is, heading west to Golden Gate Park.
With Brian in meeting and out of the picture I was free to go museum touring. Brian will pout if I try and expose him to things like rooms full of Monets in Paris, so I've learned to separate this part of my life from his.
I was on my way to the de Young, The architecutrual wonder in the park that houses some of this city's art. The bus ride was fun and quick and I found myself standing in front of the gated de Young, a half an hour before it opened.
Fated, I headed to the Japanese Tea Garden, which is right "next door", and just happens to open 30 minutes before the museum.
If you've never been, go. It's a fine fine place that will quietly begin to teach you all you need to know about Japanese garden design. The paths lead you up, down, here, there, forcing you to slow down and see. It's a bit of manipulation, virtually a path to enlightenment, but it works.
So there I was, walking through a place I had been before, seen already, done that. I had time, so I walked the paths from all directions, multiple times. And I stopped viewing and started being there.
And it was then grasshopper, that enlightenment comes.
Many of the specimen plants I was sharing my time and admiration with suddenly stood out. They are artfully, meticulously pruned, coaxed into shapes meant to evoke memories and elicit distant landscapes. And the question mark appeared in my third eye. Could these be the same poodle shapes that suburbanite misuse? Are they related to those poor tortured plants that are forced to stand guard, lonely and isolated at the corners of uncountable ranch houses across america?
I see. The answer is no, and yes, and it depends, and just shut up oh high and mighty mister master. Give trees a chance.
Be quiet, do not judge. Be still, learn . . . enjoy.
Smile.
Enlightenment, however unexplainable, does that to me.
- - - David
So there I was, walking through a place I had been before, seen already, done that. I had time, so I walked the paths from all directions, multiple times. And I stopped viewing and started being there.And it was then grasshopper, that enlightenment comes.
Many of the specimen plants I was sharing my time and admiration with suddenly stood out. They are artfully, meticulously pruned, coaxed into shapes meant to evoke memories and elicit distant landscapes. And the question mark appeared in my third eye. Could these be the same poodle shapes that suburbanite misuse? Are they related to those poor tortured plants that are forced to stand guard, lonely and isolated at the corners of uncountable ranch houses across america?
I see. The answer is no, and yes, and it depends, and just shut up oh high and mighty mister master. Give trees a chance.
Be quiet, do not judge. Be still, learn . . . enjoy.
Smile.
Enlightenment, however unexplainable, does that to me.
- - - David
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