Monday, December 03, 2007

A Potter's Wheel


A few days ago, I saw the face of a senior executive beam with child-like delight as he told me about his early experiences in a weekend pottery that he joined recently. There was an earnest quality to his expression that charmed me at once. I listened to him describe how pressure has to be applied in a particular way so that the shape of the pot remains symmetrical, how one must keep one's hands steady for about ten minutes to make sure that a shapeless lump of clay spins into something beautiful. Each word was uttered with an intensity that reminded me of how my little cousins tell me about something exciting they did, their faces aglow with a heart-warming earnestness...

When we grow older, start working and shouldering what seems to be an ever-increasing number of responsibilities, it becomes very difficult for us to hold on to some simple pleasures that make life wonderfully meaningful. Some of us completely lose track of the last time that we stopped to admire a sunrise, enjoy the evening breeze, feel the world disappear in some wonderful music, spend time with a good friend...

The action of making something beautiful on the potter's wheel reminds me of life... I think of life as the clay that the potter is trying to fashion into something shapely, elegant. The potter has two hands to accomplish this. One hand symbolises the 'big' things - a job, a steady income etc. and the other symbolises the 'little' things - the sort of stuff that makes you smile when you think about it, something that you never have to worry about. If the potter doesn't make sure that both the hands are steady, chances are that the pot will be bent out of shape. The potter's mind represents consciousness. Just as the potter has to be equally aware of both his hands and their placement on the spinning clay, our minds must also be equally focussed on the 'big' and little 'things' to make sure that we mould our lives in a balanced way.

We must never forget the little things that make big differences to us...the moments and occurrences that don't cost us a penny, but make us smile freely. Our smiles are worth more than we might imagine...our happiness is beyond value...YOUR happiness is priceless. Today, I wish you all the happiness you could ever imagine.

God Bless! :)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

lovely post Vir :)
-radhika