The poet
needs to be up at night, when the world sleeps;
needs to be up at dawn, before the world wakes;
needs to dwell in odd corners, where tao is said to reside;
needs to exist in dark places, where spiders forge their webs in silence;
near the gutters, where the underside of our dreams fester.
Poets need to live where others don't care to look,
and they need to do this because if they don't
they can't sing to us of all the secret and public domains of our lives.
They speak to us. Creation speaks to them. They listen.
Storms speak to them. Thunder breathes on them.
Human suffering drives them. Flowers move their pens.
(Ben Okri)
What is the floating world?
The 'floating' or 'sorrowful world' is our existence; it is
the pain and sadness of everyday life.
In Japan this idea was
subverted to represent a subculture devoted to the pursuit of pleasure
through art, sex and music.
The floating world subculture may have started in a community of boats or
the term may be more poetic in origin.
The expression 'floating world' incorporates
poetry, literature, song, dance, dreams and
imagination.
It is the fun of living rather than simply being alive.
It is the joy of choosing to live a deliberate life.
It is the celebration of existence in defiance of its sorrows.
To enter the floating world you need to admit your desires, passions and
dreams.
The floating world of our senses
The floating world represents an opportunity to explore existence to its
full.
We are sensory creatures, responsive to stimuli.
As humans we live for a limited period of time and how we live that
life is very important.
Do you want to live a life of lost hope and faded dreams?
Will you regret never having the courage do something you passionately want
to do?
The floating world is not a place to visit, but a state of being.
Unshackle yourself from habit, drift and discover.
To enter the floating world you need to live your desires, passions and
dreams.
Let go
People find it immensely difficult to relax and
let go.
The illusion of control keeps everyone anxious.
Taoism is concerned with seeing the world as it really is, not clouded by
illusion and thought.
Some people imagine that taoism only looks at the 'natural world'; animals,
trees and rivers.
Yet, humans are part of the natural world, so everything that we do can be
examined in light of tao.
The floating world is the unreality of tradition, culture, ideation and
entertainment.
Studying this illusion is essential.
Until you can see the false as the false, there is no possibility of
letting go.
Shadows & illusions
When your mind finds the beauty of life you will see cultures,
conventions, traditions and habits break loose of their fixity and float.
For they are all dreams.
Dreams so widespread and accepted that we think of them as real...
And unless we see the illusion for what it is, we will never be free to
choose for ourselves.
Choice
Choosing is perhaps illusory too...
The apparent choices are often themselves restrictive because we can only
choose from the options available.
What if we choose not to be limited by what we are offered?
What if we act on our own terms?
What if we define the choices?
Can we determine how far we partake in the floating world, how much it
influences us?
Fun
In the
Hindu tradition, the delusion of being wrapped up in
the material world and attached to it is called 'maya'.
Ask yourself: is it possible to see the illusion, enjoy its pleasures, yet
not be its slave?
Only you can answer that one...
Ambiguity
Uncertainty lies at the heart of the floating
world.
What is real and what is illusion?
Do we even need to choose?
Are we caught-up in fantasy and ignoring reality?
Should we reject fantasy and embrace reality?
Can we choose?
Philosophy and pragmatism walk together in the floating world, as do dreams
and reality.
Sometimes it is important to let go of your sane responsible rational life
and step into the unknown.
Knowing what will happen usually removes all the fun.
Life would be boring without uncertainty.
Be brave and step off the familiar path...
Page created 2 January 1999