The Three Cornered World - part 2

Another quote from Natsume Soseki's fine novel:

"Immediately to my left I could see the foot of another mountain, and at times within the filmy depths of haze, shadowy shapes of what might have been pine trees showed themselves, only to hide again in an instant.  Whether it was the rain or the trees that was moving, or whether the whole thing was merely the unreal wavering of a dream, I did not know.  Whatever it was, it struck me as most unusual and wonderful. " [p 24]

"Only when I completely forget my material existence, and view myself from a purely objective standpoint, can I, as a figure in a painting, blend into the beautiful harmony of my natural surroundings.  The moment, however, I feel annoyed because of the rain, or miserable because my legs are weary with walking, then I have already ceased to be a character in a poem, or a figure in a painting, and I revert to the uncomprehending,  insensitive man in street I was before, I am then even blind to the elegance of the fleeting clouds; unable to feel any bond of sympathy with a falling petal or the cry of a bird, much less appreciate the great beauty in the image of myself, completely alone, walking through the mountains in spring."  [p 25-26]

For myself I shall keep this around me as I walk through the desert and mountains.

The Three Cornered World

~tim