![]() ![]() If you really want mastery in business, health, art, parenting, or any other worthwhile pursuit, worry far less on talent and much more on your practice regimen. Masters make things look easy and natural through a pragmatic and deliberate approach to building their skills. My view: When we witness mastery, it’s almost always the result of sacrifice and practice. “Hey old man, how did you draw such a perfect circle?” He kept trying and then, one bright morning, he drew a perfect circle into the sand. But as time went by the circles began to look better and better. At first his circles came out too wide, or too long, or too crooked. The boy began drawing circles in the sand. The old man handed the stick to the boy and walked away. The old man looked at the boy and said, “I don’t know, I just tried, and tried again…here, you try.” “Hey, old man, how did you draw such a perfect circle?” asked the boy. ![]() There are about 30 stone circles from the Late Jomon (2400 1000 B.C.) scattered through northern Japan. The inside of the circle in the Zen painting is empty, symbolizing the emptiness of prolonged presence, the absence of the many Is. The boy moved closer and watched as the old man drew a perfect circle into the sand. This circle represents the same as the one Monkey drew on the ground, in the Journey to the West. I offer this particular enso as a symbol of all that is gathered and united within us - alive, open ended and true.One day a small boy was playing near the river when he saw an old man with a long beard seated in the sand. The making of a circle with one brushstroke is a calligraphic practice of bringing that wholeness forth, through the gesture of the body, into form on the page. It is a universal expression of wholeness that lives deep in our beings. From Barbara Bash The Japanese word for circle is enso. It is from that inspired conversation that I intuitively knew that Barbara was the artist that I wanted to create the enso for my practice. Barbara and I met shortly thereafter for coffee. I witnessed Barbara facilitate a beautiful, integrative, and creative workshop called Opening the Door in February 2018, hosted by Naropa University. I sought out Barbara after learning about our shared lineage through a mutual connection. ![]() Her work can still be found in the halls of Naropa University. She taught at Naropa University in Boulder, CO, where she collaborated with storytellers, dancers, and musicians in performance. She has studied dance, drawing, calligraphy, and graphic design, which has led her to a successful career as a graphic artist, writer, and performer. About the Artistīarbara Bash is a calligrapher, illustrator, author, and performance artist. I could think of no better symbol for which to represent my work as your therapist. And through lessons of the impossibility of creating the perfect circle (sans mathematical calculations), we find this much to be true: that the very imperfections and contours that otherwise prevent a perfect circle from being created are exactly what makes the enso beautiful. The enso is a representation of our true and innermost self its creation is said to leave the artist fully exposed at that one particular moment in time. It symbolizes strength, elegance, and one-mindedness. The enso is a manifestation of the artist at the moment of creation and the acceptance of our innermost self. While at first glance, the enso symbol appears no more than a misshapen circle, it symbolizes many things: the beauty in imperfection, the art of letting go of expectations, the circle of life, and connection. Enso (formally spelled ensō) is a sacred symbol in Zen Buddhism meaning circle, or sometimes, circle of togetherness. It is traditionally drawn using only one brushstroke as a meditative practice in letting go of the mind and allowing the body to create, as the singular brushstroke allows for no modifications. ![]()
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