I've felt an emptiness lately. Maybe you have too. I get lost in chores, go days without leaving my house, get overwhelmed by the injustices in the world, and feel empty.
It was with this feeling that I recently started this painting, and a story came to me, "The Empty Pot" by Demi, from a Chinese folktale. In this story the emperor is looking for an heir. He devises a way to find one. Amongst all the children, he says, I will "let the flowers choose" who the next leader will be. He hands out seeds and asks the children to bring back their flowers they grow the next Spring. "Whoever can show me their best in a year's time," he proclaimed, "shall succeed me to the throne!".
All the children return to their homes eager to do their best work and prove their worth. One boy, Ping, is an excellent gardener and sure he can do a wonderful job. However, his seed never grows. Though he cares for it, waters it, tends it lovingly it never bursts forth from the soil.
In the end, dejectedly he brings his empty pot back to the emperor. Meanwhile all the other children return with amazing flowers they have “grown”. The emperor looks out at all the children and calls forward the boy with the empty pot. The emperor reveals that he has cooked the seeds, none of them could grow. Ping because of his honesty will inherit the throne.
As I worked on this dahlia painting I kept this story and the phrase, "let the flowers choose" in my mind. Maybe it isn't our achievements or accomplishments that define us. Maybe showing up, empty handed, without much to say or offer is enough. Maybe we should let our lives be led by this part of us willing to say, "I am trying. I am doing my best. I don't see any results. And I'm here anyway."
May we find comfort in the sacred beauty of our empty pot moments. This canvas is far from empty, and yet the flowers speak of hidden possibility and carry a reminder to let our lives be led with vulnerability and authenticity.
"Let the Flowers Choose" (SOLD)
10.27.20
40" x 40"
(c) Bronwen Mayer Henry