Happy New Year

Trusting the Buddha, good and bad,
I bid farewell
To the departing year.

~Kobayashi Issa

Wings

If we were brutally honest with ourselves, “Just wing it and see what happens” is how most of us live our lives.

(Calvin and Hobbes is on the web HERE.)

Or Not.

(Get Fuzzy is on the web HERE.)

Just Like

When I first saw this I thought it was Tiny Tim and Miss Vicki.

It's actually Romeo and Julia by Russian painter Svetlin Vassilev, but I think I like my way better.

Lemmy

[embed]https://youtu.be/H4XKG1Y5sM8[/embed]

A lot of singers got their start singing in the church choir.  I am going to go out on a limb here and speculate that Lemmy wasn't one of them.

I saw him five times in the late 80s and early 90s, and was never disappointed.

I think God loves it when people love their lives and live them to the fullest, just like a parent loves it when they give a child a toy and it's played with until it's completely worn out.

That may be Lemmy's only hope.  ;)

Believe me, Ruthie, I understand.

EVERYTHING LOUDER THAN EVERYTHING ELSE

Rest in peace, Lemmy.

My life is better because you were a part of it.

Being Green Again

Excerpt from The Dream That Must Be Interpreted by Rumi (1207-1273):

   We began
as a mineral. We emerged into plant life
and into animal state, and then into being human,
and always we have forgotten our former states,
except in early spring when we slightly recall
being green again.
That's how a young person turns
toward a teacher. That's how a baby leans
toward the breast, without knowing the secret
of its desire, yet turning instinctively.

Humankind is being led along an evolving course,
through this migration of intelligences,
and though we seem to be sleeping,
there is an inner wakefulness
that directs the dream,

and that will eventually startle us back
to the truth of who we are.

This is interesting to me for two reasons:  First from the religious and spiritual aspect, and second because it predates the theory of evolution by six centuries.

All along

Lovers don't finally meet somewhere.
They're in each other all along.

~Rumi

Released

One of the happiest days of my life was the day I was fired from Goodwill.

I had the biggest grin on my face; a tremendous burden had been lifted from my shoulders.

I’m sure it was a little disconcerting for my manager, but my reaction was not uncommon.

My experience there is is a benchmark I use now to cheer myself up when things are not going well, as in:  “Yes, I am drowning in a lake of fire, covered in boils and stung by scorpions, but at least I’m not still at Goodwill.”

I have no idea why I stayed as long as I did.

That was a mistake.

(Savage Chickens is on the web HERE.)

Do you have time?

"When people say they don’t have time to meditate, I ask them, ‘Do you have time to feel like shit?’"  ~Gabrielle Bernstein

Only Now

"My legs are not as strong as they once were, when I was in my thirties and forties. I am tottering now. But in walking slowly, there also are things that only now am I able to see." ~Momoko Kuroda (at age 71)

The thoughts in their heads / Manifest on their brow…

[embed]https://youtu.be/_Qgf8fYGcmk[/embed]

Full lyrics HERE.

…as if I've lost my mind

[embed]https://youtu.be/CXA_DXj4zIw[/embed]

Full lyrics HERE.

Nonsense!

This cartoon is oddly comforting to me.  Sometimes I need to be reminded that I’m not the only Howard.

Contribute

Sunlight

"All religions, all this singing, one song. The differences are just illusion and vanity. Sunlight looks a little different on this wall than it does on that wall and a lot different on this other one, but it is still one light."  ~Rumi

Present

Hundreds

Excerpt from A Great Wagon by Rumi:

Today, like every other day, we wake up empty
and frightened. Don't open the door to the study
and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.

Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.

•

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I'll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase each other
doesn't make any sense.

Religion, sex, and TV

[embed]https://youtu.be/njG7p6CSbCU[/embed]

If you're rich, you've already won the election; if you're not, then you've already lost.

I feel like this is all just theater meant to distract us.

Full lyrics HERE.

Perpetual Christmas

Though the Governor's official mansion in Albany was not a beautiful residence in 1918, I was not aware of it when we first arrived.  I did not notice that much of the furniture and many of the rugs were badly worn, and that the excessive use of red and green on furniture, curtains, rugs, and walls made the place look as if it were decorated for a kind of perpetual Christmas.  The walls were of rough plaster painted red, although there seemed to be a kind of metallic finish to the paint, and we children soon learned that by sliding our feet across the deep pile of the rugs we could generate a surprising amount of static electricity and create quite a spark by approaching the wall with one finger-- or, better still, by similarly approaching someone else's unsuspecting ear.

I'm really enjoying The Happy Warrior, a biography of Alfred E. Smith written by his daughter, Emily Smith Warner in 1956.

She includes details most biographers would not.  Perhaps every great man should have his biography written through the eyes of a child!

Along the Way

"When families get together to remember their times together, the conversation has a way of moving easily from the tragedies to the funny things. You'll mention someone who has passed away, and there'll be a moment of silence, and then somebody will grin and be reminded of some goofy story. Life always has an unhappy ending, but you can have a lot of fun along the way, and everything doesn't have to be dripping in deep significance."  ~Roger Ebert, from his review for Terms of Endearment

If the cleated shoe fits…

Zippy is on the web HERE.

TIL: 'til vs. till

TIL that you can use either 'til or till, the choice is yours.  From Motivated Grammar:

Till and ’til are actually two different words with two different etymologies. Till is the earlier form, attested as early as 1330; Until is actually derived from till, not the other way around as in ’til (a backformation which showed up much later).  Both are common, so it’s up to you which one you like.

 

Till our legs take root

"As we turn every corner of the Narrow Road to the Deep North, we sometimes stand up unawares to applaud and we sometimes fall flat to resist the agonizing pains we feel in the depth of our hearts. There are also times when we feel like taking to the road ourselves, seizing the raincoat nearby, or times when we feel like sitting down till our legs take root, enjoying the scene we picture before our eyes."  ~Matsuo Basho, (1644-1694)

With Us

(via my friend Frank Maston)

Rejects Nothing

The local Catholic church used to run a column in the paper explaining their faith to a largely Baptist audience.  This is one that always resonated with me.

This is a transcript of a yellow, faded article- brittle now with age- that I cut out and saved.  The part I particularly like I highlighted in blue:

Catholic Approach To The Bible
Article 37
Sept. 15, 1982
ORDERS 5: THE WAY THINGS ARE

The priest is a man chosen from among men to offer sacrifice and to lead the People of God in the worship of the Lord.  Of him, as of the apostles, it can be said:  “You have not chosen Me-I have chosen you”  (John 15:16).  Jesus is the vine; all others are branches on that vine.  Without Him, nothing happens; with Him, great things happen, especially in the inner depths where each of us meets God.

The spectacle of religion without a priest is relatively recent.  After the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D., there was no further Jewish priesthood.  The morning and evening sacrifices which had been offered there and there alone (Deuteronomy 12) for centuries, suddenly ceased.  Synagogues became places for reading of the Law and the Prophets throughout the Diaspora, but these services were conducted without priests.  Lay-organizations prayed together and studied the Sacred Writings together, and with the passage of item a set format developed.

Islam is the name peculiar to  the religion founded by Mohammed (570-632 A.D.).  It is fiercely monotheistic:  Allah is the only God, and Mohammed is His prophet.  Islam has no real clerical cast, no liturgy (other than prayer five times a day), no church organization, and no monasticism.

Just as the Jews have certain outstanding rabbis who enjoy great prestige (Maimonides, for example), the Moslems have their special interpeters of the Koran.  Who has not heard of the Ayatollah Khomeini?

The Catholic Church’s relation and attitude toward all non-Christian religions was spelled out at the Second Vatican Council,  in a marvelous document dated October 28, 1965.  The scope of this document is much wider than the Jews; it includes also the Hindu religion, Buddhism, Islam, and all others.  It recognizes the universal longing of all peoples to understand what life and death are all about, and what meaning is to be attached to life.  The Catholic church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions, and seriously urges her children to work with them for mutual understanding through dialogue and collaboration in the areas of social justice, peace, human rights, (and) freedom.  “Maintain good fellowship among the nations” we read (1 Peter 2:12), and as Paul advised, “Live in peace with all men” (Romans 12:18).  “Be children of the Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:45).

Since the 15th century, most Protestant church services are conducted by ministers or pastors both male and female.  Anglican and Lutherans and the Greek churches also have bishops and priests.

The Catholic religion is an organized religion, that is, it presents to the world a unified picture of divided responsibilities towards God and neighbors.  The Pope is the Number One man; today he is John Paul II, a fearless crusader for Christ, a man forged in the crucible of Communism.  As the gigantic machinery of the Vatican cannot be managed by any one man, the Pope is assisted by a “cabinet” of Cardinals.  Cardinals are highly intelligent priests who have amply demonstrated their good judgment and organizational ability, and represent a cross-section of the whole Catholic world.  Sometime they are ambassadors or papal nuncios, sometimes they are the head of archdioceses.  Archbishops and bishops preside over and direct local provinces.

But it is through the parish priest who is so intimate a part of “grass-roots” Catholicism, that most people meet the church.  He is called “Father” because that term describes his loving care a solicitude for his little flock.

Copyright © 1982, Richard T.A. Murphy, O.P.

A thousand miles from home, but I don’t feel alone…

[embed]https://youtu.be/RlkeZqHmxlk[/embed]

It wasn't a Top-40 hit, but her cover of this Bob Dylan song is one of her sweetest and most endearing.

Full lyrics at BobDylan.com.

If there was a way…

[embed]https://youtu.be/3OC_PHu_pqI[/embed]

I love the drums, the harmonies, and the woah-oh-ohs.

Full lyrics HERE.

"Shaka, when the walls fell."

“Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra” is one of my favorite ST:TNG episodes.

It explored language and cultural barriers in a unique way.  I wish schools would show this episode in their literature classes.

(You can refresh your memory by reading about this episode HERE.)

Open/Shut

"If we are open only to discoveries which will accord with what we know already, we may as well stay shut."  ~Alan Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity ©1959

֎

"And though my eyes were open, they might just as well've been closed."  ~Procol Harum, A Whiter Shade of Pale   (YouTube)

Learning for Life

In this TED Talk, John Green talks about the opportunities for learning the internet offers:

Some of us learn best in the classroom, and some of us ... well, we don't. But we still love to learn — we just need to find the way that works for us. In this charming, personal talk, author John Green shares the community of learning that he found in online video.

Watch it online HERE.

Simple Simon

CBS News reports on the new budget agreement:

The biggest things Republicans scored was the repeal of the 40-year-old ban on crude oil exports, as well as provisions in the tax extenders deal that would delay ObamaCare's so-called Cadillac tax and the medical device tax for two years.

Among the wins for Democrats, the spending bill does not contain a number of riders demanded by conservatives and opposed by Mr. Obama.

No, that's not a "win" for the Democrats.

If there's a pie on the table, and your opponent eats almost all of it, but just before taking the final piece you hold up your hand and say "Wait!  Save some for later!" you are not a Master Negotiator who has won a concession.

You are an idiot that didn't get any pie.

Merry Little Tim

[embed]https://youtu.be/aPprRVvl2vQ[/embed]

I miss Tiny Tim.  He gets a little worked up, but I don't for a moment doubt his sincerity.

Sunday Morning Music

[embed]https://youtu.be/wb3iAI5-m48[/embed]

This one grows on me each time I hear it.  Aren't the bells magical?

 

Critics and Cynics

We don’t have a lot of Social Critics these days.  We do have a lot of whiners, though.

Even though he’d be kind of a load if he lived next door to you, I think America could use a few men like Diogenes of Sinope.

The Critic

So Mona and I went to see Mannheim Steamroller a few days ago, and long story short:  they stink.

It turns out Mannheim Steamroller has two bands touring under that name, neither of which contains a single founding member.  They played songs from their albums exclusively, with identical note-for-note arrangements.

Some parts were pre-recorded, and I honestly have no idea which parts were live and which were Memorex.  The sad thing is, it doesn’t even matter.

This was essentially a charmless cover-band.  I feel like I bought a ticket just to watch their videos- the exact same videos that have been playing on PBS for decades.

They told us at least three times during the performance where we could go to buy their merchandise.  I don’t mind that when the performer is an up-and-comer struggling to make ends meet, but when a highly profitable corporation does it it reeks of greed.

Just stay home and listen to their albums.  You’ll have a better time.

Cancer

A little bit of cancer is a very big deal.

My wife Mona, who I love dearly, could be the poster child for early detection.  Last month doctors found a tiny little lump in Mona's breast, only about the size of a grain of rice, and a needle biopsy revealed that it was cancerous. Stage One.

She had a lumpectomy.   I had always assumed this was was a simple procedure, on the order of  a tonsillectomy.   It's not.  It's much more complicated than that.  The morning of the surgery doctors injected radioactive dye into her nipple, then tracked the radiation to remove the associated lymph nodes.  The lump was removed, and also tissue surrounding the lump.  There were two incisions, one in her armpit and one in the side of her breast, each several inches long.

The news afterward was excellent:  lab results showed the cancer had not spread into the lymphatic system, and the doctor is confident that the cancerous region was removed.

But it's not over.

She will have between four and seven weeks of radiation therapy.  This will be five days a week in a continuous stretch.  Cancer is seldom confined to a tiny area, and this will sterilize any cells that sneaked out of the initial site.

Mona will meet with an oncologist after the first of the year.  She will see this doctor twice a year for five years.  She is likely to have to take a daily hormone pill.  Chemotherapy is unlikely, but still on the table.  We don't know yet.

She will continue to meet with the surgeon four times a year for two years, then twice a year for three more.  He will monitor the breast to make sure the cancer doesn't return.

What I didn't know about cancer was that it is such a long-term ordeal.

I'm learning.

It's Four-O'Clock Somewhere

My four-o’clocks worked hard all summer:  pushing roots down, pushing leaves up, flowering and making seeds, endlessly photosynthesizing.

Now they're enjoying a much-deserved retirement.

Now

"We cannot enjoy life if we spend our time and energy worrying about what happened yesterday and what will happen tomorrow. If we’re afraid all the time, we miss out on the wonderful fact that we’re alive and can be happy right now."  ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Ray-Bans

Jean

[embed]https://youtu.be/IJZQz5U0el0[/embed]

I never cared much for his books, but I've discovered that I like his performances quite a bit.

What a wonderful world…

[embed]https://youtu.be/S9hgelVS-0I[/embed]

Sunday Morning Music

[embed]https://youtu.be/QAOTxAGJUug[/embed]

I hope this song makes you happy.  :D

Full lyrics HERE.

(Oliver also had a hit with the song Jean.)

The Seeds of War

The Seeds of War
by Thic Nhat Hanh
from Shambahala Sun, January 2016

Violence is never far away.  It is possible to identify the seeds of violence in our everyday thoughts, speech, and actions.  We can find these seeds in our own minds, in our attitudes, and in our fears and anxieties about ourselves and others.  Thinking itself can be violent, and violent thoughts can lead us to speak and act violently.  In this way, the violence in our minds manifests in the world.

We usually think of violence and war as an act or event with a definite beginning and a definite end.  But when we look into the true nature of war, we see that, whether war breaks out or not, the seeds of war are already here.  We do not have to wait until the war is officially declared to recognize its presence.

When we recognize the voilence that has taken root within us, in the everyday way we think, speak, and act, we can wake up and live in a new way.  We can make a strong determination to live mindfully, to live in peace.  Shining the light of awareness on the roots of violence within our own hearts and thoughts, we can stop the war where it begins, in our minds.  Stopping the war in our minds an in our hearts, we will surely know how to stop the war outside.

You Will Be Assimilated

What worries me about the contemporary “always connected” culture is that it encourages a hive mentality that discourages individualism.

There’s a risk that people won’t say things they want to say for fear of losing followers, and will say things they don’t really mean to get “likes” and “hearts.”

I trust individuals.

I fear The Borg.

Wash away my troubles…

[embed]https://youtu.be/UmTx9y7ePTg[/embed]

I had this song in my head and didn’t know why- then I realized I was reading the Shambhala Sun.  :)

According to SongMeanings.net, "Shambhala" is sort of a Buddhist paradise- not necessarily a place, more a state of mind.

Merge

"Opposition between good and bad is often compared to light and dark, but if we look at it in a different way, we see that when light shines, darkness does not disappear.  It doesn't leave; it merges with the light.  It becomes the light."  ~Thic Nhat Hanh, quoted in Shambhala Sun, January 2016

Even Some

Ahhhhhhhh... Yeah!

[embed]https://youtu.be/8pdc2Om84gw[/embed]

This is my go-to song to lift my spirits.

It was a contender for first-dance at our wedding, but ultimately we went with this one.