The intended themes for todays gathering, are "the endless knot, and it's never too late". Unraveling our past, and opening ourselves to potential, are relevant features of the Celtic and Tibetan knot's. In both Celtic and Buddhist tradition's, advice on how to untie knot's act as parables, in helping define our intention's, and giving due respect to the truth's of nature. Before I move on to "it's never too late", I provide these online discussions of the endless knot's.
The endless knot or eternal knot is a symbolic knot and one of the Eight Auspicious Symbols. It is an important symbol in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. It is an important cultural marker in places significantly influenced by Tibetan Buddhism such as Tibet, Mongolia, Tuva, Kalmykia, and Buryatia. It is also found in Celtic, Kazakh and Chinese symbolism. These phase of existence are called the 4 Bardo's of birth, life, death and rebirth. An excellent discussion of these truths can be found in the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying.
The meaning of the Celtic Knot is commonly considered to signify the three forces of nature: water, fire and earth. The single line is said to signify the oneness o the spirit and the spirals represent growth. The gaps in the spirals symbolize the stages of life: life, death, and rebirth.
Chinese knots are often used to express good wishes, including happiness, prosperity, love and the absence of evil. Chines people have known how to tie knots using cords ever since they began, learned how to attach animal pelts to their bodies to keep warm, thousands of years ago.
It's never too late. I have given the narrative, that if I had taken drama or music in high school or college, my father would have taken me out back to the shed. He was an inspirational teacher, as I heard dozen's of times from ex-students. His studies and knowledge was both broad and well studied, and he interlaced life principles and values in every class from history, to typing, to mathematic. While he preached tolerance and justice, he was a hard task master as a father. I could not imagine choosing a different father, though in youth, I sometimes envied the father's who portrayed a happy and welcoming nature. Who knows what goes on behind closed doors.
The same year I got my Bachelor's degree, I bought two flutes, and found a PSU professor who gave private lessons. My debut with her was Clair De Lune, in front of a number of her gray haired friends. Tough audience, har, har. I would soon take jazz flute from a local player, private instructor. Ouch, I learned coltrane, got innundated with the circle of fifth's and was chastised regularly for not doing daily, lengthy exercises and progressing with the German Instruction Book, that she chose as best. I soon discovered the Suzuki method, and left the rigor's of no pain no gain, and took off on flute from there.
Music is my second most dependable tool of self care. Fasting comes in at number one, but for the day-to-day world, I need to be singing, playing flute, playing guitar or banjo or I mount up stress and anxiety. After my hospital injuries, my friend, wise woman, and therapist, told me "music is your number one, and most important therapies, and she was right. It has sustained me during times of trouble and exhaustion. One of my mentor's said, music is meta, and by this he meant that when you allow yourself to fall deep into music, you find God there; or at least the divine.
Mark Twain quipped, the older I got, the wiser my father became. Finally, I am able to put a clear intention around my father's constraints, and methods of raising his second son. I can tel you, that this was a complicated jig-saw puzzle. It didn't help, that he never knew himself, and was incapable of loving himself until his final three years, when my sister and I gave him unconditional love and support. It melted a broken heart of shame and self loathing, and for the first time, he would allow me to hug him and he learned the word's "I Love You".
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