”What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”

~Henry David Thoreau

extreme point/counter balance… LOTS of tension, Very high and narrow center of gravity… extremely precise angles required ♥

worked on this balance for at least an hour with gloves on… unsuccessful… then, gloves came off, and balance was realized within 5 minutes :) heightened sensitivity required.. :)

Later in the day, after constant snowfall.. Balance holds Strong.

Whatever comes let it come,
whatever stays let stay,
what goes let go,
always keep Quiet, and always adore Self:
this is the essence of living skillfully
in the world of appearance.
During all activities of life
is to accept whatever comes
and not care about what does not come.

Things will come so enjoy them and be happy
Let the play happen by the Supreme Power;
you will be taken care of.
Be free to be happy, love has no traps.
If you are happy all will be happy,
if you suffer, all will suffer,
if your mind smells bad others will be affected.
Keep yourself happy in peace, Light, Wisdom, Consciousness
This is your responsibility.
Be happy and have compassion and live hand and hand with nature.
This makes birth worthwhile.
Start from Heart and see that all arises from Heart.
Always do this, Always be This.

~Papaji

Each balance is possible because there is a definite, but fine line between equilibrium and collapse.  I found these rocks and conceptualized the balance on a previous day, the wind was too strong to realize it.  So I went back the next day during a freakish spring snow storm. A somewhat regular occurrence during springtime in Boulder, Colorado.  Maybe you can tell from the most previous posts, that the weather has been warm until now.. then… BOOM.. at least a foot of fluffy spring snow.  But the only weather that really stops me from playing with rocks is wind.  I LOVE snow. :)

Snow normally adds an interesting element to the experience. something different. human traffic dies off.. leaving me along in the creek with the rocks.. the silence grows LOUD in these conditions.. and I love it.  This balance required a bit of extra persistence, taking an estimated 1.5 hours to realize.. nearly gave up once or twice… but I KNEW it was possible… I had FELT the still points several times. it was simply a matter of lining up the angles correctly for the extreme point/counter-balance.  The high center of gravity compounded the challenge as all the rocks had to be extremely precise to achieve the intended “S” curve. The rocks Slipped easily with the constant wet snowfall… but once the balance is found, slipping does not happen. Although intensely precarious, the definitive line of balance carried enough inertia to withstand a lot of snowfall.. assuming no lateral wind.

these pictures are from the morning… more from the evening will follow…..after snowing all day :)

“The Universe is saying: Allow me to flow through you unrestricted, and you will see the greatest magic you have ever seen.” – Klaus Joehle

estimated time for realization: 1.5 hours
air temperature: -5(ish) C
payoff: infinite
observed magic: infinite
happy feeling: infinite :)

Sometimes it just happens despite the obstacles..

All I know is that whatever DOES happen is all part of the zen of existence.. no more. no less.  I was the only human being in sight today in the park… I guess everyone decided to stay cozy in their homes… but once again i became possessed by a greater force to trudge through thick spring snow. Sometimes I wonder if it happens against my will in conditions like this… but for me, this moment had no price tag… and escaping with a visual record of the experience leaves me even more grateful.

My favorite kinds of rocks are ones with various red colors.. some (me) would argue that I’m attracted to the red ones because of my Canadian roots.  And then with the winter wonderland? perfection… only one word for me can fully describe such an experience… you guessed it… ZEN.

I remember getting a little bit irritated by the sloppy, snowy conditions.. I was slipping all over the place… sometimes even cursing at my equipment for slipping too.. welcome to the drive of a passionate artist. <3  in the end, I would not trade the experience for anything.

Woke up to snow and revisited the mandala with curiosity… Everything still in tact, water level rose slightly, barely revealing a change is surface texture of water inside the mandala.. :)  Arrived just in time… two of the seven balances collapsed from wind at the end of my snowy visit.. :)

“Act without expectation” ~Lao Tzu

Experiences like these, I’ve come to find, carry a certain magic.. The photos fail to capture the thick spring snow that was falling during these pictures.. The whole scene was truly surreal with the thick mesh of moving elements and still rocks…. Fortunately I was able to record a clip of video.. :)

The video does a great job illustrating the variable stillness of water inside versus outside the mandala.. the video is somewhat hypnotizing to watch.. :) ZEN… check it out below!

During today’s visit, a vehicle pulled up on the creek path with two curious people checking out my work.. :)  They were in a state of wonder having discovered the mandala.. we exchanged a few words and one guy said the rocks were amazing and that he had been bringing friends down all morning to see it.. INSPIRED :D

One of the most powerful elements of this art form is the way it brings people together… I’ve seen this phenomenon since my first experiences stacking in the creek… People are either curious and/or mystified.. Because of this mystery, simultaneous onlookers usually seem more likely to spark conversation about the structures… :D  This has happened hundreds of times in my experience… which is why rock balance is a great thing to incorporate with events.  I’ve heard so many different subjects of conversation evolve via two strangers randomly meeting and discussing the balance..

The arch held up pretty well through the heavy snow and ice but, like all things, met its eventual collapse… Today was that day for this one.  I must confess that I interfered slightly to remove as much snow as possible… I suspected the ice and snow might torque the arch out of balance through small shifts.. especially while melting..  As I removed the snow, I learned I was correct.  some rocks had begun resting in the receding ice along the backside in these photos… I did my best to balance play with documentation, and luckily got these last images before i attempted to rescue the arch further…and failed.. ha oops…

But now, I no longer have an uncontrollable urge to visit the freezing creek each sunrise…ha.. until the next time ;)

The timing with light and snow removal left a brilliantly glowing arch with its ice-coated backside..