Recently, I found this post on Twitter:
The haiku in question, written by the famous poet Kobayashi Issa, reads as:
或時は花の都にも倦にけり
aru toki wa hana no miyako ni mo aki nikeri
I think there’s a powerful truth to this poem, even if it’s a bit tongue-in-cheek too: even the most pleasant joyous things we experience in our lives get old.
I like a good pizza, but if I eat pizza every day, I will get tired of it. I like playing old-school video games, but if I play them all the time, I get burned out and my body doesn’t feel good since I’ve been sitting too long. The thrills of life get old.
Anything we enjoy in life is best done in moderation, and oftentimes it’s best to let go if the amount of effort put into it is not worth the return. It’s easy to forget this when you’re deep in the weeds, so take a minute to step back, breathe deep and take stock.
Life is short, and it’s important to make good use of one’s time before one goes old and too feeble to do anything about it anymore.
P.S. I have two plum trees outside my door, and I love it when they blossom, but then I get annoyed by all the garbage they leave behind when the blossoms fall. I suppose that’s a related metaphor, too. ;p
P.P.S. I have been to Chion-in temple above in the past a couple times and it is still dear to me in many ways. More on that in a future post.
Gleanings in Buddha-Fields 