An example of symmetrical balance in the piece are the Eternity Gates found on the inside short ends of the box. The gates are positioned symmetrically. The two shoji gates are meant to represent birth and death – the gates to life, as we know it.

The Eternity Gates are done with a Casulguidi stitch in colors that traditionally represent life and vitality (red)[i] and the mysterious or unknown (black)[i] in the Japanese culture. The mirrors are placed so that they reflect each other.

This did not turn out as well as I would have liked. I made them as large as possible and if you were walking in the garden you would see that each reflects the other – creating a reflection that continues into eternity. The viewer of the garden does not get this effect since they can’t look into the mirrors at the correct angle. I am not sure how to fix that problem, but they are symmetrically balanced!

The central courtyard of the garden itself demonstrates symmetrical radial balance. Each of the stones are placed in the center of a spiral, the spirals are flipped along an axis, creating symmetrical balance that represents the twists and turns of experience. Each of the stones is polished to a different level representing the effect that life experience has on each of us. We may begin as rough as the ‘child’ stone, but by the time we near our ‘old age’ stone we have become smooth and our true colors shine forth in beautiful radiance.

The stones are Poppy Jasper, a mineral that is only found in my hometown, Morgan Hill, California so it has special meaning for me. I have lived here all of my adult life after a childhood of moving from place to place,[i] so this is where most of my ‘personal polishing’ has occurred. The swirls represent the raked gravel found in a Zen garden. The monks who tend these gardens rake the gravel into patterns as an exercise in meditation and focus. They strive to create perfect placement of each ridge, even as we strive for perfection in the areas of our lives which are important to us personally. Now that’s something to reflect on!