Lessons from Buddha

As you walk and eat and travel, be where you are. Otherwise you will miss most of your life.

Buddha

Irises, Vincent Van Gogh
These flowers were painted twice. Once with a white background to 
give the flowers a soft pastel look, and once with a yellow background. 

I very much believe that each day of your life is just as important as the one before it. Every day is made up of the same number of minutes as the next. When I was sixteen I did a project where I took a  photo 365 days in a row. The challenge was to include a one inch wooden figurine of a smiling Buddha in each image. The goal of the "3-6-5" was to practice and improve my photography, the end result was so much more.

 January 10, 2011
Everyday things can be so comforting. 

In order to take an attractive photograph, you as the photographer are required to put a lot of thought into what you find attractive. Some days are easy. Being surrounded by bright colors and long summer light sets up lots of happy images and inspires many memorable moments to be recorded on film.

Other days are not as easy to capture an instant. Days that are spent home sick watching television or figuring out how to move forward when you feel stuck in a rut are harder to find the happy moment. I've found when I am stuck in a funk the world is not as beautiful, not as easy to snap a portrait of.

As that year went on and I periodically looked back at where Buddha had traveled so far and all the friends he had laughed with I realized why he was always smiling. Buddha appreciates every day for what it is. I learned that I shouldn't live my life looking forward to things, or spend my time missing the past, I must try to welcome every moment of every day.

April 20, 2011
Sunny days in Munich

People seem to look at their lives in regards to major events; graduations, weddings, birthdays. But why should those days be any more momentous than any other? I spend more time each year in the shower than I do the mountains. But that doesn't mean I am going to consume my brain with wishing I was in the peaceful mountains when I can take delight in the peace of a hot shower every day.

If something makes me smile, no matter how small, I replay the moment in my head. I write it in my journal, I snap a picture, I type up a note in my phone, I highlight the well written passage of the book. It doesn't have to be the main event for it to be the headline.

Ever since I learned this lesson from my little smiling Buddha I have enjoyed life so much more. I don't fret about the notifications from my phone, I focus on the painting hanging in the restaurant, or the laughing children in the park, I take note of the details on the shutters and doors of the buildings as I pass by. If something catches my eye I stop and explore it.

This weekend I went to Amsterdam and was blown away by the beauty of the city. My new friend Becca and I walked through Vondel Park on our way to the Van Gogh museum. We almost did not make it to see his art because we were admiring some sculptures we discovered on our own.

By the time we arrived at the museum we had about fifty minutes until it closed, we rushed through trying to see everything, yet allowing ourselves to be enthralled by the beauty of so many paintings. I found myself lost, gazing into tulip fields through Monet's eyes, staring into the sea from Van Gogh's vantage point, seeing purple Irises from his perspective, and so much more.

Becca was off finding her own paintings that she was falling in love with. I would have to pull myself away from a painting and forbid myself from looking back. With time ticking down we would run to the next floor, not to rush through, but to seek more paintings that triggered such intense emotions. We hardly spoke to each other in that hour, all through the crowds and the excitement. We were both so affected by the art.

Appreciating art in Vondel Park Amsterdam

No photos were allowed so I stared deep into the paintings trying to memorize how I felt and what I loved about each. I was so overwhelmed with happiness that my brain overloaded and I knew I wouldn't remember anything. While I stared at Monet's tulip fields I knew I had to return some day.

Every event was a peak of the mountain and the final summit was nowhere in sight. It's rare to visit a destination and the tourist attraction is just as wonderful to see as the serendipitous discoveries. I need to return so I can spend hours in the Van Gogh museum, picnic in Vondel Park,  and ride bikes along the canals. I had fallen in love with Amsterdam (Valentine's weekend none the less).

Irises, Van Gogh
With a yellow background these contrasting
colors are stunning in person. 

I had been stuck in a bit of a "Paris funk" lately. Not doing much besides school and hanging around my apartment I was reminded of those tough times during my photo a day project. Some days it's hard to capture the happy moment, but it's important to remember those days don't last forever. Make the most of them and appreciate them for what they are , never wish the day away.

Find the good in the pit days, and peak days will come along as well. The view might be best from the top of the mountain, but that doesn't mean the view from the bottom is bad. As Buddha says, " be where you are, otherwise you will miss most of your life". You can see hundreds of world famous paintings in the same hour that you see an unknown artists work hidden in the trees and be equally touched by both of them. It's all up to how you decide to look at whats surrounds you.







The other highlights of our weekend and activities we would recommend:

1. Lunch at Cafe De Ceuvel. Check out my new friend Becca's blog to read about it. Off the beaten path, hidden treasure.
2. Waiting two hours in the cold to visit the Anne Frank House. Well worth the wait, but if planned in advance you can get timed tickets. However, we did enjoy chatting with our new friend Kristin, who was on a business trip from Boston.
3.  Vondel Park, search for the tree support sculptures.
4. Van Gogh Museum, allow hours to explore and appreciate. It's expensive, but worth it.
5. All the food. We had a No Kebab rule. Everything else we discovered was incredible.