The Art of Giving All

In my art, in my Zen practice, and in my work with the Temple community, I keep returning to the same refrain: “Don't hold anything back.”

Life gives us breath, thought, feeling, circumstance, and we, in turn, are asked to give ourselves fully to life —to this moment.

When I sit down to create, I don't calculate what might be "enough" or "worthy." I pour what I have—skill, doubt, vision, imperfection— into the idea, and onto the canvas.

When I sit down to meditate, I don't wait until my mind is quiet. I give the noisy mind itself.

When I meet with the sangha, I offer the patience, mistakes, and clarity that come with my own humanity.

In each case, life is not asking for perfection, but for wholeheartedness. When we hold nothing back, life itself flows through us.

And in giving all, we find that we are endlessly given to.