A Japanese Slipper – the Golden Mean, foundation stone of the Zen No Mind

There are perfect forms to find in the world. I wait each day for the Tao to wash one towards me or I toward one. Sometimes I even arrive at the moment but in this shared reality made of projections and reflections it is impossible to determine whether I am that which is looked upon, or I am that which is looking upon me. Even now … I cannot tell.

Perfect forms soothe us like lullabies we cannot remember. Perfect forms draw the eye and hold the gaze, unwilling to separate itself. A Japanese Slipper is one of them. Best of all, it is attainable. It mirrors the Golden Mean, the perfect proportion of the horizon from the perspective of a human being. It reflects the skyline that separates heaven from earth and beckons to another time, the before barely remembered, the once when we were whole. You know what I mean, the Golden Mean. The perfect proportion when beheld, gazed upon, looked at, experienced, imbibed will orient us to our Authentic Self, impervious to damage or decay.

The Japanese Slipper is the Golden Mean in a glass, but in an everyday sense and without the first principle narrative – it is a cocktail made from three thirds. One third, usually a shot, of lemon juice, one third of Cointreau – an orange liqueur and one third of Midori – a melon liqueur poured on top of a bright red maraschino cherry with the stem – intact. Most important – shake the buggery out of the cocktail with a hoard of diamond ice chips for just longer than you can and then something magical even alchemical happens, will happen – no need for romantic longing – when poured over that cold agitation – ABRACADABRA – the liquid is illuminated and transformed in to an elixir of perfect proportions.

It is divine, and will remind your Self Divine, of what you were once. So if a perfect moment does not unfold one day soon, the Japanese Slipper promises to instead.