Flick Faves on a Friday

Zen. It can come in all sizes.

1. solstice dreams, 2. Day 77: Zen Garden, 3. Chicago . . ., 4. color wheel, 5. つりあい, 6. totally zen, 7. an imaginary science, 8. 4, 9. perfect little white things

Room with a Garden View

When I was in Kyoto last week, there was one day that I was in serious need of some zen-ness. I hopped on a bus that took me up into a little mountain town, Ohara. For a long time I sat alone in the large garden of a temple where the sun illuminated the small Japanese maple leaves. Water ran down the slope, playing notes on each rock in hit.

After a while I explored the area a little more and was drawn to this old house. Once again, I sat and absorbed the nature around me. From one side I marvelled at the beauty of a 700 year old pine tree.

While enjoying the view, I was served traditional, bitter, matcha tea, perfectly complimented by a very sweet Japanese manju.

The red carpet was set out in an L shape on the tatami matting. To my side, the garden continued with a bamboo background.

After a quiet half an hour spent like this, I felt like I'd had a full eight hours sleep. It's fantastic for the soul and I really have to remind myself to do this more often.

This is my zen contribution to Big Cat's BLOGTOBERFEST.