Note
Kumiko is a traditional Japanese woodworking technique for creating intricate patterns and designs without nails or glue for “shoji” screens and other decorative elements in architecture, furniture, and various modern applications.
‘Eunoia’ is a linguistic marvel, the shortest word in English to contain all vowels. Its shortness is not a mere quirk but a profound symbol of unity and harmony. Its existence is indebted to a single consonant, ‘n,’ an impurity in a vowel world. The same is valid for jewelry: small contaminants are necessary to give ornaments a solid shape. For the word ‘soul,’ there is no such pollutant. We perceive it simply as a noun. The wonder is not in spelling but in usage—it could be more! A time-dependent effort to keep our souls alive. Without such activity, could we lose our souls?
Our lives are mostly an award. We could make the journey gladly, recklessly, or drudgingly. We may even set the entire voyage on auto-pilot mode and never care much! Whatever choice we make, life would include death and grief—obscene bouts of heartache—as an essential part of the way it is made. However, nobody gets a precise map of maneuvering; it is only a hunch for anyone. So this journey is the oldest trip in any manuscript—from birth to death, from self to world, from known to unknown. Only each of us travels it anew, exhaustively alone. It demands complete engagement and commitment to discovery—a continuous and ever-evolving journey.
A Talmudic saying goes, ‘We do not see things as they are. We see them as we are.’ What we are is a direct result of our activities to nourish our souls. The compass that guides us on this expedition is our decisions and actions, unaffected by the various sources of misguidance that may derail us. It’s a mindful recognition that the ‘sunglasses’ we wear can taint our perceptions with relentless whispers, urging us to add ‘something from external’ to ourselves with ‘nails,’ ‘glue,’ or ‘fasteners.’ But it’s also a precious focus on undoing and freeing ourselves from the opinions and influences that have shaped us. We are the architects of our soul, and our actions shape it. This realization empowers us, giving us control over our contentment and the direction of our lives.
Our soul yearns to know and settle on who we are, not what we have been guided to believe. Yes, satisfying the soul’s longings is a continuous expedition where all judgments are temporary. But our most trusted companion, nature, is protean enough to heal our wounds. Of course, not all ruptures can be restored. But the alternative route is to stalemate, stagnation, and eventual decay. It’s a journey that demands continuous engagement and commitment—a journey that keeps us attentive and alive.
In the traditional Japanese Kumiko woodworking technique, intricate patterns and designs are made only with wood. No external fixtures are used or needed! So, for our souls, all we need is a glimmer of prospect, a genuine chance for the ‘possibility’ to unfold in our grand endeavor of learning to live, exist, let go, and…