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The Zen of Mobiles
by Debra Ann
Let's stop for a moment, breathe deep, think and observe.
Mobiles are compelling. They draw the eye upward and add color to the space. But mobiles are more than that. There is a lesser known element of mobiles that most people may not be aware of unless they own one (like you, now!) and have really stopped to think about it. So let's stop and think.
A hanging mobile is in constant motion. Sometimes it seems like it is completely still. It rarely is.
The magic of the mobile is the subtle way in which it moves.
This subtlety has a profound purpose. I have a red, black, and white MCM mobile in my master bedroom. I relax in bed and look up and observe the abstract color shapes as they move slowly. Almost imperceptibly. I am sure they are not moving. So I look away for a few minutes. Then look again. The pieces have changed position.
Serenity now.
I find gazing at the mobile calm and relaxing, filling me with a sense of peace. It is zen. Quite often with my busy schedule I don't notice the mobile for days. So many things in our lives get taken for granted, are not seen, or are not seen fully and completely for the wonderfulness that they are. Some time might pass, and then I happen to glance up at it and I notice that the color shapes have moved since the last time I looked. The shapes are in constant - though at times extremely subtle - evolution.
Sometimes there is a breeze that confidently propels the shapes and moves them noticeably as you watch. Other times they seem to barely move at all, or seem to be at a complete standstill. This is art that is in constant transformation. Constant metamorphosis. You own an art piece that becomes different things at different times. Pretty color. Movement. Nuanced movement that you never notice. It is peace.
The mobile is.
The mobile is deceivingly simple. Just a few color shapes. And some wire. Do not be fooled by this simplicity. The beauty and movement hint at something more complex, something more significant, something worthy of your attention, and yet it does this whether you look at it or not. This is the beauty of the mobile. It is so much more than it's simple facade.
This simple mobile suddenly becomes significant moving changing art. It is continually reinventing itself. The mobile becomes so much more than merely a bit of pretty home decor. It's a dancing plaything for our eyes. A soothing salve for our minds. A random generator of chance process. As I lay in bed I remember to look up to see what shape the mobile has taken at that moment. This is me living in the moment. You look up at your mobile. This is you - living in the moment.
The magical capricious force that moves the mobile, also moves us. It is symbolic of life. Of life effort. Of breath.
This is the zen of mobiles.
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