I have been hearing a lot of references to Haiku lately. On Wednesday night, Sun Microsystems CEO, Jonathan Schwartz, resigned with a haiku, sent via Twitter. Last week, I heard Ian Marshall interviewed about his book, Walden by Haiku, in which he rewrote Thoreau’s Walden entirely in Haiku. It started me thinking about Haiku and relating it to family.

In Eastern philosophy, Haiku embodies the idea of wabi-sabi, the spiritual richness found in simplicity. Do we ever slow down enough to observe the simple events in our family lives? Why do we keep finding more things to do? We are told to keep our children busy so that they do not get into trouble. We blanket ourselves with input. Are we avoiding boredom? Are we afraid of a lack of accomplishment? Are we uncomfortable with being alone?  Or do we just lack the capacity to enjoy the simple things in life?

I watch my 89 year old mother sit by her window and look at the yard. She is retired, I make her meals, and she has few responsibilities or demands on her life. She is in a perfect position to go crazy with boredom and yet, she does not. She watches the birds; she walks around the property looking for bulbs breaking through the waking soil; she stops to pet the cat and converse with it. She is metaphorically living on Walden Pond. She is a haiku.

Older, slower, Ma

Watching world, nature changing

Starting over, Spring

What if we take a lesson from my mother?

Your teenager is lying on the couch, listening to music and spacing out. What if you leave him undisturbed? What if you just take a moment to appreciate the glory of a health handsome lad, spread out on the sofa focusing on his music. He is a haiku.

Your baby is lying in its crib cooing away. Yes it is getting late. Yes you need to get the baby up and dressed so you can go to work, but look at her. She is peaceful; she is joyful; she is beautiful. This event is fleeting, it will take little time from your life to mark it, and it will be a wonderful memory to carry through your day. She is a Haiku.

Your husband is at the garage bench repairing a lamp for the 3^rd time. He is intently focused. The smooth white hands of an executive grappling with a tool bought specifically to strip electrical wire. A tool, which, along with the supplies and gas spent on the many trips to the hardware store, costs more than a new lamp.  But can you look past the seeming silliness of this task and see the man. He is focused on something purely for the pleasure of it. He is doing something that is inefficient, a wonderful thing for a man who does rational, meaningful and productive things all day. He is a Haiku.

This week, I will search out the spirituality of simplicity in everyday family life. I will observe those fleeting moments and take note of them, maybe I will even write a Haiku, if inspiration hits. Maybe you would like to do the same? Just in case you want to give it a go, here is a quick overview of the rules of Haiku.

A Haiku is a non-rhyming verse, conveying an image or feeling spread over three lines, often with a seasonal reference. There are 5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the second line, and 5 syllables in the third line.

As always, I look forward to reading your comments, or possibly some haiku? Also, feel free to add or email any questions or ideas for future topics of discussion to Family Talk.

Thanks for joining in the conversation, Judy

judy@afamilymag.com