I’ve recently become acquainted with the poetry of a Persian mystic named Rumi.
I’ve always admired the mystics of every religious persuasion; the people who’ve managed to strip the dogma and baloney from their tenets and see with a clearer eye.
I came across this poem today and found a section that perfectly describes what artists are and what they do:
From One-Handed Basket Weaving:
I’ve said before that every craftsman
searches for what’s not there
to practice his craft.
A builder looks for the rotten hole
where the roof caved in. A water-carrier
picks the empty pot. A carpenter
stops at the house with no door.
Workers rush toward some hint
of emptiness, which they then
start to fill. Their hope, though,
is for emptiness, so don’t think
you must avoid it. It contains
what you need!
Dear soul, if you were not friends
with the vast nothing inside,
why would you always be casting you net
into it, and waiting so patiently?
Posted by Todd in Uncategorized at 8:15 PM PDT