Monday, November 16, 2015

Carpe Diem #860 Cosmic Order



"Living with nature is giving yourself totally to the Cosmic Order" - Chèvrefeuille

“I was in touch with the energy of the universe,” he replied. “God passed through my soul.” - quote from The Zahir by Paulo Coelho

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

First I love to thank Hamish Manaqua Gunn (a.k.a. Pirate) for being our guest-host this weekend. His posts were wonderful. I was surprized with his "shaman-haiku" post ... what a great idea to "create" a new haiku genre especially to give words to the ideas and spirituality of the shaman. The "shaman-haiku" fits this month's theme like a glove. Thank you Hamish, my friend.

After those wonderful posts of Hamish it will not be easy for me to create our new episodes, but ... well ... my style of writing the posts is different from the style of Hamish and that makes the beauty of Carpe Diem Haiku Kai, a loving family of haiku poets.

We are on "the path with the shaman" while we are on a journey through the wonderful Altai Mountains. During our journey we are accompanied by Paulo Coelho as we are reading one of his most wonderful novels, The Zahir.

Today our prompt is Cosmic Order and that's what the people living in and around the Altai Mountains are following in their daily life. They live totally with nature and are one with the Cosmos. As I am saying in the above quote ... I too am living with nature following the Cosmis Order. How could I live in another way as a haiku poet? As a haiku poet, writing the poetry of nature (as is haiku called often) we are one with nature and part of the Cosmos (or the Universe).
Haiku IS the Cosmos I dare to say, because haiku is not only a beautiful poem, it's a way of living. As a haiku poet you have to live haiku. We are, as humans, all part of nature. We are not above nature, we are nature and therefore we have to take care for nature. Nature is the source of our poetry.

The people in the region of the Altai Mountains are nature. They are living with, by and through nature. And that we can see in their daily life. They listen to the wind, to the rain, to the snow, to the hail, to the sun, the gurgling streams ... they listen to the cry of the eagle, because for them the Eagle is holy and a Messenger of the Gods and they have to follow it.

[...] "I believe in signs. After I had walked the road to Santiago, everything had changed completely: what we need to learn is always there before us, we just have to look around us with respect and attention in order to discover where God is leading us and which step we should take next. I also learned a respect for mystery. As Einstein said, God does not play dice with the universe; everything is interconnected and has a meaning. That meaning may remain hidden nearly all the time, but we always know we are close to our true mission on earth when what we are doing is touched with the energy of enthusiasm." [...] (The Zahir - Paulo Coelho)
[...] "All men and all women are connected by an energy which many people call love, but which is, in fact, the raw material from which the universe was built. This energy cannot be manipulated, it leads us gently forward, it contains all we have to learn in this life. If we try to make it go in the direction we want, we end up desperate, frustrated, disillusioned, because that energy is free and wild." [...] (The Zahir - Paulo Coelho)

Credits: Ger (or Yurt)
In the "architecture" of their "gers" (or yurt), their homes, we can see their strong bond, connection, with the Cosmos. Everything in, at and on their gers is in balance with the Cosmis Order. Their gers are based on equality, because you have to bend your head, as you enter the ger, in praise of its owner, in praise of the Cosmos.

Entering the ger is almost the same as entering the Japanese teahouses to attend a tea-ceremony. It has also a low door that makes you bow ... in praise of the owner and host, based on equality. We are all the same, no ranks ... equal to each other.
Isn't that wonderful? We are in the Altai Mountains, but also in Japan. There are similarities between these two regions we can not over see. In the Altai Mountains they live with nature. They praise and honor nature. In Japan they live with nature, they are part of nature based on the Shinto religion. That completes the circle betwen us, haiku poets, and the people of the Altai Mountains and Japan. That is the Cosmic Order ... that is the Cosmos, the universal consciousness that binds us together, like a family ... as I love to call our haiku community Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. Thank you all for being part of this family of haiku poets. That makes me proud, but also humble. Who am I that I may be your host?

one with the Cosmos
a nature loving family
of haiku poets


© Chèvrefeuille

the cry of an eagle
resonates through the Altai Mountains
like a prayer


© Chèvrefeuille

Credits: Festival of the Golden Eagle (Altai Mountains)

circle of life
seasons come and go ... always
the Cosmos leads us


© Chèvrefeuille

deep silence
I bow my head in adoration
snowflakes fall


© Chèvrefeuille

I hope you all did like this post and that it will inspire you to write haiku, tanka or another Japanese poetry form.

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until November 19th at noon (CET). I will (try to) publish our new episode, the third haiku by our featured haiku poetess Ese, later on.

!! PS.: Don't forget our new kukai "WINTER". You can submit a maximum of three unpublished haiku (only haiku) until December 23rd 10.00 PM (CET) !!

3 comments:

  1. Thanks very much Chèvrefeuille for the kind words. I enjoyed the weekend. The concept of bowing in front of the yurt, and as going in, is really fascinating. Your haiku on the theme of bowing is particularly fine, very nice,

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  2. These are always so uplifting and centering! True haiku!

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