“When you are young, there are many things which appear dull and lifeless. But as you get older, you will find these are the very things that are most important to you.” ~ An Artist of the Floating World
The works of Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai are some of the most famous art pieces in the world, especially his renditions of Mount Fuji and all those glorious waves. Hokusai has also painted a number of snow-themed works, to which I often turn at this time of the year, trying to find beauty in the predicament that is winter in upstate New York. I’ll curl up in a cozy corner of the conversation couch, backed by the light from the front window, and delve into my art books, slowly turning the pages and marveling at the work of a masterful artist, and the way it mirrors the wintry scene just beyond my reach.
“There is certainly a satisfaction and dignity to be gained in coming to terms with the mistakes one has made in the course of one’s life.” ~ An Artist of the Floating World
The notion of the Floating World, where we find our worldly pleasures in and of the moment, is especially resonant in these winter months, when joy is fleeting and the ephemeral thrills slip way before they can be fully felt. I want to embrace winter, I want to inhale its smoky chill and inhabit its icy beauty, and I’m getting closer to achieving this. The love of such a trying season has been a long time coming, and it’s one that took some work and effort to approach. There aren’t many people I know who prefer the rigors of winter to the ease of summer, and those that do remind me that our world is a wonderfully varied and vibrant place, with people as different as night and day. How fortunate we are to be in such a world, for however brief a moment.
“A man who aspires to rise above the mediocre, to be something more than the ordinary, surely deserves admiration, even if he fails and loses a fortune on account of his ambitions…
If one has failed only where others have not had the courage or will to try, there is consolation – indeed, deep satisfaction – to be gained from his observation when looking back over one’s life.” ~ An Artist of the Floating World
