Dear Pogue,

Have you ever thought that certain artist get to present their art over and over, such as a musician? They write a great song and people call out to hear it played at concerts. The artist enjoys the achievement again and again, as they should. But other artist don’t get to share that experience. No one said to Stephen King: “I enjoyed your book so much. Write it over for me” or Vincent Van Gogh, “Paint a Starry Night again man”.

So I’ve revisited some of the post that seem to have been well received and I am going to play then again because I think they were worth writing and so did a handful of others. “Play it again Wic”.

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We love a good film don’t we? Like a good book a good film can be visited over and over, don’t you agree? One of those that I visit is The Last Samurai.

Now there’s a scene in the film where Ken Watanabe, playing Katsumoto, the leader of the Samurai and Tom Cruise, playing Captain Nathan Algren, a traumatised US Calvary officer stand and observe the cherry trees in blossom. Katsumoto looks at the blossom and says:

The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend your life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life.

And this scene leaves me wondering.

I have written three or four posts on Japanese concepts but my understanding remains small. For me the search for the perfect cherry blossom is a beautiful concept, but as a way of fulfilling ones best life….? This all leaves me struggling to write meaningfully to you.

We live in a world that thinks very differently to this don’t we? We live in a world whose values are built on achievement, striving and success. The by products of these are prestige, possessions, prominence and power. So how do we find any capacity, and knowledge, that allows us to understand Katsumoto’s statement? Yet in a strange way I do.

You will never influence the world by being like it.

Tay Lauren

I do, but not as some mental ascent. Not as a concept I could convince or sell to others by using words. A life pursuing a perfect cherry blossom as opposed to striving to own a new Porsche? Dream on! Come Pogue, even you might be tempted by the car so what chance do I have?

No, I understand this because it is something that moves my spirit. How weird does that sound? My intuition leans into the idea and I get that peaceful easy feeling that I have come to recognise as right.

I know. I’m one on my own. But listen. There’s a principle here that is not tied to our ego driven world. It’s about seeking perfection and that, dear Pogue, can be a deeply spiritual thing. Remember that, when writing on the Laws of the Universe, I suggested that we only see shadows of the true form as we pass through this world. That the truest, the most perfect, the principle form of everything exists in our Source, the great Spirit, God, and every other manifestation of that is only a copy. However good, however awe inspiring or captivating, it’s still a copy. The copy appears perfect until a better copy comes along if you understand where I’m coming from? We know no better until better presents itself. Every possible variation of the cherry blossom come from this one principle form and each is a small manifestation of perfection.

Thus a search, a life long search will be a spiritual quest for that, for where the perfect form lays. Indeed, it will not be a wasted life. Dare I offer that it will be a path to enlightenment? That to find perfection demands a raising of our own level of consciousness or, to use a popular concept, our level of vibration. Indeed I would ask, can a life given over to the pursuit of perfection bring about a better way of living as things that distract must, and do, fall away? It is not difficult to live a distracted life, a life given over to entertainment, possessions and instant gratification. How much of life is lost to distractions that, in the final analysis add nothing of worth? Perfection walks a narrow path, yet a path becoming ever more beautiful.

You cannot be perfect in this life. Accept it. But you can always be better. Be gentle with yourself and keep moving forward.

Wic

Will perfection be found in this life? No, if the original masterpiece sits in God, in Heaven or Nirvana if you please. But much like truth and greater truth that I wrote about recently, we will imagine we have found perfection at times having experienced no greater manifestation of that which we seek, only to be surprised when our perception of perfection is exceeded. Never close your mind as the Universe delights in surprising, the Great Spirit being a god, limitless in potential. And every step is a step nearer Heaven, nearer enlightenment, near the realisation of your truest potential.

So…be encouraged to seek a perfect cherry blossom, whatever that looks like in your mind. Please, please be gentle with yourself as there are those who have imposed an overly harsh discipline in their search. It’s not about self so, rather than imposing a strict discipline just determine to move forward in your search and allow Source to do the rest. An open mind and a willing heart are more powerful tools in the hands of a loving God than you will know in this lifetime. And remember this, as you draw ever nearer to your perceived expression of perfection you draw nearer to its source. Is it not written, “Draw near to God and God will draw near to you”?

Yours, viewing cherry blossoms,

Wic.