Behind the Curtain

If I ask you what is the one thing you know for sure to be true in this world, how would you answer?  Maybe I'm being a bit tough. How about I let you choose 3 truths? Got something in mind? I know how the Buddha would answer. 

I'm not a Buddha yet and I don't like plagiarizing so here's my completely original answer originating from my own unique mind:

• Nothing stays the same. Change is happening moment by moment, propelled by a force and energy greater than any single object. 
• Inner and outer are two sides of the same coin. The perceiver and the perceived are the same at the moment of perception. 
• There is no inherent meaning to life. It is what we make of it. Any meaning we give to a situation, person or belief is a conscious decision we add on. 

So now what? Why does it matter what I think? It matters because I need to make myself accountable. Do I truly believe that nothing stays the same? Yes, that's why I need to constantly remind myself to be grateful -- for the good, the bad and the ugly. Because any moment it could all disappear.

I don't have the luxury of ignorance anymore. My Dad is turning 70 in December. My oldest niece will start fifth grade in September. I can't keep asking myself who I want to be when I grow up. I'm already grown up. I'm already somebody. It happened without me even realizing. Luckily, I am somebody I truly love. After some close examination, I've decided I'm not too bad after-all.

Now that I have over thirty years in the bag, I want to live the next thirty a bit differently. I don't need to look for happiness anymore. I can choose happiness with every breath. I don't need to be afraid of others disapproval anymore. I will try my best and that's something nobody can ever judge. I won't wait for the perfect moment, job or relationship to appear anymore. Life is a lot better being lived, enjoyed, observed, created and appreciated.

I was one of those annoying kids who always asked "are we there yet" over and over during road trips. I couldn't enjoy the journey. I always wanted to get "there" as quickly as possible.

Luckily I've changed a bit. Now, I try to see the "there" in here and everywhere. Case in point -- the above picture taken in Guizhou, China at the Huangguoshu Waterfall (黃果樹瀑布) in March, 2010.

"Yellow fruit tree" waterfall is the largest waterfall in China but unfortunately when I went, it's grandeur had diminished due to a long-standing drought. The majestic rush of powerful, descending water had turned into a peaceful layer of trickle. If the waterfall was my ultimate "there" of the trip, I would have been greatly disappointed. But behind this great waterfall, there exists a great cave called the Water Curtain Cave. And within a small, small space of this cave, lives the flowers you see above, hidden behind a curtain of light and water.

If there had been no drought that March, and if the waterfall was at its usual greatness, maybe I wouldn't have bothered to look more closely for an "interesting" shot. It definitely wouldn't be the same shot because the heavy cloak of water would have blocked out most of the gorgeous light. It wouldn't have been the same shot.  

I used to want to take "good" pictures. Pictures other people would like and say good things about. But true happiness cannot be hinged on the judgments and approval of others. 

So why do I take pictures? Just to enjoy and appreciate the moment. It's just play. It's fun. It's curiosity. It's about recording a moment where perceiver and perceived were one. It's just to see how something would look through my eyes. 

It's like a peak behind the curtain.