The Zen of Origami

  My family went into  a favorite bookstore one day after church to pass time. I'm mindful what I say nowadays and avoid saying "killing time" then wonder the next day why I don't have time. Browsing over the books, a colorful  box caught these eyes of mine, "The Great Origami Book and Kit". I have always wanted to learn this what I think very Zen art and so I picked it up and told my husband that he just found me a very reasonably priced but meaningful anniversary gift. Too bad it wasn't our first as the boxful of paper would have been very appropriate.

     Over the next few days I was bent over a piece of paper - folding, creasing, pressing, unfolding, squashing, crimping, collapsing. And it's not just a fold. There's mountain fold, book fold, cupboard fold, blintz, pleat, bisect, inside reverse, double reverse, inside crimp, petal fold, open sink, rabbit ear, double rabbit ear, and swivel fold. I'm not done - there's also a waterbomb base, a preliminary base, and a frog/lily base.

     After practicing on simple basic shapes, I decide to make my first sort-of-complicated origami - the crane. There is a story you might have heard about the significance of the paper cranes and wishes and the mating habits of this flying wonder, but  I leave that for another day. I picked this particular bird in honor of my Qi Gong instructor who taught me the five routines of Chinese Soaring Crane Qi Gong which has affected my life in ways unimagined - in a good way. But that story is for another time too.

     Opening the box of brightly-colored papers, at first I could only stare at my choices - patterned, plain, light, dark, shiny, or matte. I eventually picked one patterned square of paper and begin what I wasn't aware of as a Zen practice. At first I just run my fingers over the smooth surface of  the chosen paper, afraid to make the first crucial fold  from which all the other folds  would follow. Corner to corner, one has to be sure the points are where you want them before making that crease. And then  I follow the rest of the steps, following the ten commandments of origami (yes, there is one..umm...ten) making sure I didn't skip a step and paying attention to all the instructions and making the folds and creases precisely . After a few minutes, I fold the wings down then pull the wings gently to shape the body. And there it is... my first origami crane. Only then did I realize that in those few minutes of making that  crane, I thought of nothing else, and my breathing had slowed down on its own. And just holding that paper crane in my hands was satisfaction enough. Or was that peace?

      Nine hundred ninety-nine more to go and my wish will be granted.


There is no time for confused thoughts. Practice single-mindedness. (Thich Nhat Hanh)