My Dharma name, Sōkei, means “vital joy,” and was given to me by my Zen teachers when I took the Buddhist precepts. It is both a gift and an aspiration. Vital joy is not something I can chase or create. It arises freely, without cause or condition.

We often rush past the ordinary stuff of life. Clouds drifting, trees bending, a single bird cutting through the sky. In our haste, we miss the profound truths they carry.

When I walk in the woods, I’m not looking for nature; I’m waiting for it to find me. Nature doesn’t pose or perform. It simply shows the truth that everything is in flux and uncompromising.

Many years ago, as an art student, I learned to draw what is by drawing what is not. I learned to draw the negative space around the figure. This perspective opened…