Finding the Being Within: April 2012

100-day-old ceremony kimono

What a fascinating journey it has been to see Kai pass the 100-day-mark of being present in this world. To be sure, there hasn’t been a lack of smiles, laughs, diapers, wake-up calls/sleep, photos, videos, Skype calls, car rides, and just about everything else you can imagine over the past few months. Fortunately, I’ve been able to capture many of these precious moments on film; others however, will have to remain better kept and remembered in memory.

One could say that one-hundred-days is not an awful lot of time, but for a newborn... that’s an eternity. Indeed, each and every day is a new adventure in and of itself. Everything is new, nothing no matter how mundane for us adults lacks wonder. Be it sounds, smells, new and changing sights, discovering the ability to move the body in certain ways, or the very impermanence of it all, for a baby like Kai, everything is a new and delightful experience.

Without a doubt, it's the "firsts" of each which make the biggest impression. Whether it is the first trip out of town, the first sighting of a new season, a tree, the ocean, a river, a rock, a ball, sushi, relatives, family friends, children, dogs, an uttered word, a laugh, the early morning light passing through the window, the sound of a bell, or discovering just much fun it is to play with wrapping paper, EVERYTHING is interesting. Whatever it may be, during the first few months of life, every "1st" is a "first" and as such it opens grounds for a celebration.

Another interesting aspect of the last few months has been highlighted recently now that Spring time is in full-bloom here - the awareness of the very impermanence that encompasses all. In Japan, it is easy to observe this phenomenon with a natural, beautiful, and abundant reminder - the 桜 trees (sakura or cherry blossoms). Add to this, the daily interaction with a being in his infant stages and the changes taking place on a moment-to-moment basis become very evident. In many respects, sakura trees offer the perfect metaphor for life in that every stage of their development leads to the blossoming of its unmissable beauty, a phenomenon which doesn’t last long in the great scheme of things, only to pass on and begin again in the subsequent cycle. Nevertheless, I believe the most beautiful stage of the tree’s development is not necessarily just its blossoming, but rather the entire trees’ journey of transformation which takes place on a yearly, monthly, daily, and moment-to-moment basis. In this sense, just like the sakura, a baby’s beginning stages along with the blossoming of skills and steps in their development is comparable to the process and journey of the lives that each of us lead.

In addition to this, I personally believe that the best part of the last few months has been to observe just how much babies can truly live in the moment. Without the worries of an over-analyzing mind, the cultural prejudices and biases and the dangerous influence of that thing we call ego, they are free to simply be and act exactly as they see fit. There’s no need for them to pretend to be someone they’re not, there’s no need for them to try to prove anything to us, to themselves, or anyone else, there’s no need for them to even attempt to understand the reason why things happen around them. All they have to do is simply be what they already are without the need to hide away from or resist their own instincts and emotions. For instance, when they are faced with discomfort, they are able to express it by the way of a loud cry, but as soon as the discomfort gets alleviated, they carry on to whatever the nowness of the next moment brings without attaching themselves to the experience.

In short, it could be said that babies and young children in general are natural Zen masters; their world is brand new in each and every moment. They have the innate ability to not only be present in their experience, but more importantly, to do it without judgment. To me, being able to observe this natural behavior of our own beginning firsthand is very fulfilling. Indeed, there are times when I wish I too had the same innocence and tabula rosa of a mind that is always ready for anything, always ready to accept, and always ready to marvel at all that which comes into view without the inevitable attachment and/or mind-drifting that happens with us adults; preventing us from fully appreciating what’s before us.

It’s not surprising, therefore, why it is often said that the wisest of us all are children. One can only wish we had the power to “unlearn” the very things which we have learned over the course of our lifetimes (most of which is the furthest thing from the truth anyway), and regain, or at the very least experience, the same innocence and humbleness of our early beginnings once again.

I end this post in the knowledge that the lessons I have learned over the last 100+ days are only the beginning of the continuous source of inspiration and wisdom that “new” human beings bring with them each time they blossom... into being.