Vortex in the river of life
My publisher asked me to think about images for the cover of my forthcoming book on the six elements — a book about how we can seek happiness in the midst of an impermanent world. This image seems perfect. It has an eddy in it, which is a great illustration about how something can have a form, and yet everything that constitutes the form is forever passing through to somewhere else. Also, the eddy isn’t separate from the river. The mind likes to imagine a demarcation, but it’s impossible to pin down any boundary. That speaks volumes to me about how we see ourselves as separate from the world, and also as unchanging, while actually our nature is the opposites of those things.
And it’s a natural image rather than a studio shot, so it’s perfect for a book about the elements. I wonder what Sounds True will think of it. Maybe they’ll find something even better.
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Published: Dec 01 2009
Very beautiful.
I like it a lot. The metaphor of an eddy is also good because there is feeling of stillness associated with it. Paradoxically appreciation/acceptance of change gives rise to a feeling of expansive well being that feels still or whole – well for me anyway.