My mind returns again and again to this painting from the Garden and Cosmos exhibition—Death of Vali; Rama and Lakshmana wait out the monsoon (Jodhpur, ca. 1775). The brothers, seated in stillness, embody a presence untouched by the storm, holding each other as the Ramayana turns.
It brings me back to us at Burning Man in 2007—just you and me, knee touching knee, facing each other on stools in the middle of the Esplanade. Flowing around us, thousands of jeweled lights streamed by in endless motion, yet we remained unmoving, quiet stones in the desert river.
In that moment, as the eternal spring drenched our lands, I saw my reflection in you—my home. The self recognizing the self in the mirror of a thousand faces.
I completed the garden and made a video. Sadly for me, Yogi preferred to join you at the dance of the eternal ball in the garden paradise.
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Music: I Feel It Coming – The Weeknd / Daft Punk – Funk Cover ft. Laura Mace