Tag Archives: inspiration

Cowboy Boots, Design & Materials

Leather Carving

Customer: “I want a fearsome battle scene between a bear and a bull, with horns and claws and bloodletting. I want a patriotic tribute with stars and stripes, an eagle, swords, golden arrows and military artillery. I want a tangle of thorny roses. Lots of them. I want a spewing oil rig, lotto-sized dollar signs, rattle snakes and roosters… and I want the rooster tails to mimic the artistic energy of the aforementioned oil well. I want a lifelike portrait of my hunting dog ‘Champ.’ I want a herd of wild mustangs thundering across my cowboy boots. I want a hundred dollar bill so real looking I could get arrested for counterfeiting.”

Bootmaker: “Yer crazy.”

Peter Main: “What color do you want those roses?”

Photo courtesy of www.PeterMain.com.

Art & Culture

“Bootist” Walking Meditation

Instructions:

Wearing your favorite cowboy boots, take a walk to nowhere in particular. Listen to the sounds your feet make in your boots…across wood floors, across dry gritty dirt. Do not rush.

Be mindful of your walking, not your path. Enjoy your steps. Let the sound of your cowboy boots call you into the present moment. Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow is not here yet.

“When we practice walking meditation, we arrive in each moment. Our true home is in the present moment When we enter the present moment deeply, our regrets and sorrows disappear, and we discover life with all its wonders. Breathing in, we sayto ourselves, “I have arrived.” Breathing out, we say, “I am home.” When we do this, we overcome dispersion and dwell peacefully in the present moment, which is the only moment for us to be alive.

As you begin to arrive with each step, you become more solid. As you become more solid, you become more free. Solidity and freedom are two aspects of Nirvana, the state of liberation from craving and clinging, fear, and anxiety. The practice should be pleasant. When you feel happy, your solidity and your freedom will grow, and you will know you are on the path of right practice. You don’t need a teacher to tell you if you are enjoying the practice. Allow yourself to be.“ –Thich Nhat Hanh