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How is it that we forget things that we once knew well? Not facts, those slippery bastards are running away all the time. I mean things that you understand and live by.
I've just recently happened upon these 2 things, and on reflection, I'm pretty sure I used to know them well, but I've forgotten.
1. Enlightenment is a journey, not a destination.
I've long been fond of zen koans that are typically in the form
Zedidiah, a traveling monk came to the temple and asked to stay the night. The watchman said he could stay as long as he liked. Zedidiah left, never to return. Seeing this, the watchman was enlightened.
However, the tagline "he was enlightened" bothered me. How could you become enlightened by a simple incident, a twist of fate? After much pondering (I was probably either in the shower or driving, I forget exactly where) I stumbled upon a realization: it doesn't mean that he became enlightened, it's not a different state. It merely means that he learned something, perhaps something profound, but in any case it's just something new he learned.
And so, I was enlightened.
2. Forgiveness is not for the benefit of the transgressor, but for the benefit of the wronged.
If someone has done something wrong to you, it does not serve you to remain angry at them. Remaining angry only weighs you down. There's a saying (possibly a buddhist proverb) that anger is like grabbing a red-hot stone to throw at someone. You surely injure yourself as much as any other.
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I've got an idea for a thing.
You're probably familiar with geocaching. I think it's neat, but a bit too techy, for the same reason I'm not terribly fond of GPS navigators in cars - it's just following an arrow. Letterboxing I think is more interesting, seems more grounded to me. Probably no surprise, as it's been around a lot longer.
But either way, I like the idea of going and finding a thing. So, how about finding a trail of things, luring innocent people into a maze of intrigue and mystery... well no, pretty much just finding a trail of things.
So my idea in brief: "boxes" with QR codes / website addresses. Find a box, go to the website which gives you clues or directions to the next one. Rinse, repeat.
There's more to it than this of course which I'd be happy to go into deeper detail on, but first wondering what people think.
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Think of all the things you wish you could be doing. Make a list of the reasons why you're not doing them. Cross off all the reasons that are really just excuses. Now ask yourself what's really stopping you...
-Tony Tribby
Where to start, where to start ...
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"You must never feel badly about making mistakes," explained Reason quietly, "as long as you take the trouble to learn from them. For you often learn more by being wrong for the right reasons than you do by being right for the wrong reasons."
"But there's so much to learn," he said with a thoughtful frown.
"Yes, that's true," admitted Rhyme; "but it's not just learning things that's important. It's learning what to do with what you learn and learning why you learn things at all that matters."
"That's just what I mean," explained Milo as Tock and the exhausted bug drifted quietly off to sleep. "Many of the things I'm supposed to know seem so useless that I can't see the purpose in learning them at all."
"You may not see it now," said the Princess of Pure Reason, looking knowingly at Milo's puzzled face, "but whatever we learn has a purpose and whatever we do affects everything and everyone else, if even in the tiniest way. Why, when a housefly flaps his wings, a breeze goes round the world; when a speck of dust falls to the ground the entire planet weighs a little more; and when you stamp your foot, the earth moves slightly off its course. Whenever you laugh, gladness spreads like the ripples in a pond; and whenever you're sad, no one anywhere can be really happy. And it's much the same thing with knowledge, for whenever you learn something new, the whole world becomes that much richer."
"And remember, also," added the Princess of Sweet Rhyme, "that many places you would like to see are just off the map and many things you want to know are just out of sight or a little beyond your reach. But someday you'll reach them all, for what you learn today, for no reason at all, will help you discover all the wonderful secrets of tomorrow."
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I got another forwarded piece of right-wing tripe forwarded from a republican family member. Here is the original, lovingly titled "Some belated parental advice to protesters"; I've included it at the bottom of this post, so read it first or start with my reply.
( My response )
( The original )
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| » Points of view |
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It's interesting how your viewpoint on a particular micro-fact can reveal a lot about your overall view of things. Here's a statistic quoted in a letter to the editor from my hometown newspaper:
The top 1% of income earners earn 19% of all income and pay 37% of all taxes; the bottom 50% earn 13% of all income and pay 3% of all taxes
( And the question is ... )
Nov. 18th, 2011 @ 03:52 pm
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| » An observation |
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Heard this morning: "Just because you decided to become a vegetarian doesn't mean that bacon's going to stop smelling good."
It was part of an interesting topic, but it's an interesting observation in its own right, so I'll leave it that way, at least for now, and see how people misinterpret it :)
Nov. 9th, 2011 @ 09:16 pm
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| » Things I've Learned From Sailing |
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When you're sailing with the wind, even though you're making good speed it can feel like you're going nowhere at all.
The fastest progress is made across the wind.
It doesn't matter if you're sailing upwind or down -- when the wind stops, so do you.
All the beating to weather you're doing doesn't mean shit against a strong current.
The tide comes in and the tide goes out. Ignore this at your own peril.
I do miss sailing. But do you really think that's all I'm talking about here?
Nov. 6th, 2011 @ 09:22 pm
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| » I am sad ... |
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Apparently the only people reading my old LJ posts are the spambots ... is that what this world has come to? Or do I just need to create new, interesting posts?
Oct. 13th, 2011 @ 09:04 am
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| » Back at the Squirrel |
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So for this long weekend we're heading up to our cabin in the Sierra foothills, which has been named "The Laughing Squirrel" (domain name unfortunately already registered). I like it up here. Clear air, clear skies, a bit noisy right now (the crickets) but relaxing. Sure, there's crap to take care of (the driveway, possibly the lawn - although I get to ride the tractor for that! - planting berry bushes, etc). But as much as anything else, it's a change of scenery.
I highly recommend it.
Sep. 3rd, 2011 @ 01:09 am
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