In preparation




Focus
The nape stiffens up, the eyelids get closer, the eyes converge on an invisible dot. Right there is the bowl to prepare. The back stiffens up, the vertebras align, the arms relax and I walk straight. The way to the pavillon is ahead.

When a great event approaches, these sensations can start occurring several weeks in advance. All my body focus. There is no room for confidence nor doubt. Confidence is the enemy of perfection, doubt is the enemy of action.

All that is left to do is to tie the bow, looking straight at the target. Too much tension and the arrow will spring before the game starts. Not enough and the hand will shake like a needle.



A tea ceremony is a seasonal matter. There is no pleasure to strawberries if they come all year long. To accept that seasons pass, that pleasures change along the year, is the very first step toward the acceptance of our own fragile condition. At my young age, there are already pleasures that I will not know anymore, but others are coming. There are seasons to life.
It is said that the pure joy of our childhood is innocent. Maybe it does not know the pains of life. Dream salesmen want us to think that this joy can be found again. I prefer the smiling melancholia of a second of happiness stolen to the clock of modern times.


Situations

But then, beyond seasons, a tea ceremony is also a matter of purpose. Why do we prepare tea ? Who are we preparing for ? There is no unique answer from the host. It also means that there is no unique mindset for the host. 
To some tea ceremony, I go with a light heart. I just need a couple of hours to prepare, sometimes even some minutes are enough. These are good times with my friends, the promise of a quiet patina on the shimmering world.

And then, there are these rare events, that sometimes need months of preparation. Some would say that it is a material preparation. To me, it is mostly a spiritual one. Ideas, slowly, are compiling with each other. None is bad, nothing is to be left behind. The coherence of themes and colors come up naturally and always escape the grasp of my understanding. Without really knowing where I go, I look at the path at my feet and there is only one.

These kind of ceremonies, I have mostly done them for my tea master. Soon, I will do one for the employer who believes in my projects. For that person, it will probably be no more than a fleeting  moment, some thirty minutes in an abandoned hut. To me, the ceremony has already started.




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