Impermanence

'Seed': The first prize winner in the masters
competition by Jooheng Tan

Today we visited sand sculpting competition in our town. It was beautiful display of art and creativity. There were some sculptures in the making but most of them were completed and the prize was already awarded. I realized that art is a spiritual activity. The artist being one with the material. Making beauty from things as simple as sand. Creating a form from formlessness. In case of sand sculpting, the design is probably made and mostly sketched out by the sculpture before the event. 

Most of them were very beautiful expressing some deep philosophies of life and nature. They will be displayed there for one more day and then will be destroyed. They just cease to exist, physically. Many of them will remain in the mind of art enthusiasts or mere onlookers like me. But they served their purpose. That is, to elicit joy and a feeling of awe in the mind of art connoisseurs. The fact that they existed in this world on for fleeting moments does not diminish their value. 

To me, they symbolize the passion and creativity of people who made them. They taught me the value  and beauty of simple objects that we see around us. Most importantly, they reminded me of the impermanence of life. That nothing last forever. The question in not how long you live, but what difference you make in this world.

“The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough"- Tagore.