What is Our Nature?

In the philosophy of Epictetus, one student asked what is comprised of our nature, the response given was to be free, noble spirited, and modest.

In the chapter preceding that it gave the story of a slave, who wants to free; when being set free he went on to pursue many things. Upon his old age the revealing moment came that as a slave he was a slave of one, yet as a freeman he became a slave of many, a slave of wants, pursuits, desires.

It makes me reflect upon my own everyday living, and the concept of being free. A spiritual freedom is what I have always held dear. whilst easily said in life I know how difficult that can be to maintain.

To pursue that spriritual freedom, the question, I guess, that we have to ask ourselves is that in this one time only life, does the life we have fulfill all our deepest longings?

I don’t think there are many people putting materialistic ownership, wealth, fame, power as the longings from the heart, because those often can not give a why.

At different turns of my life I had tentatively pursued some sort of life that I thought was close to my heart, yet time passed on and my search of why had to continue on. This time, my decision of moving to London, spending time on making feels authentic. It is a wonderful feeling to be authentic, every moment counts, every step made is made with intention.

In my ceramics workshop I just made my first hand build vessel that I am proud of. It took quite a while to make,coiling, waiting the clay to get drier, trimming, using kidney rib to smoothen the surface, applying damp sponge to mellow the edge with the body of the vessel. So much efforts were put in for no reason else, other than me wanting to.

The process of making is like a pilgrimage of sorts, where the hand and the mind are closely connected to the materials. As an artist once we start to make the whole world opens up, in terms of the way we look and experience other arts and life.

I feel that pilgrimage of sorts is related to being free, in the spiritual sense at least. But it can be also linked to being modest and noble spirited as quoted from the philosophy of Epictetus. My experience is that once you find your calling, follow that calling, our true nature reveals. It is like a pebble shaped by the sand; water, like our calling,passes through washing the pebble clean to reveal its beautiful essence.