This week has been about cultivating losses

August 5, 2007

“Strictly speaking, there are no enlightened people, only enlightened actions.” – Suzuki Roshi

This week has been about cultivating losses. It has been about bowing to or greeting the entanglements, confusions and beauties of life with an openness. The gift of this past few painful weeks has been an acceptance… a letting go or opening up. A long time ago, an old-timer in a smoke-filled Narcotics Anonymous meeting told me that it is impossible to both control and enjoy something. The past week I’ve turned loose of a lot of that imaginary control I’ve tried to have with my job and my community. This week has been about remembering that my job in life is not the attainment of any goal, esteem or even friendship. My job in this life is to do the next right thing and trust in causality – trust that as long as I greet life with openness that those actions build upon themselves to create something that we generally call “a good life.” Doing this in the face of personalities, reports and deadlines, office politics, bills and fear seems to only require the death of the notions of how I think things should be.

Most of this last week has offered many opportunities to bemoan the way things are: the HACS Center is closing; my car broke down… again; I’m burned out; etc… Along with all of this comes some measure of clarity. The currents of life seem to be drifting me towards learning to be open to letting go. So, I’m in the process of being open to the flow of life.

There is a Middle-Eastern poet named Rumi. I like his works because they seem to have a lot of truth to them. The following Rumi poem sort of encapsulates many of the nuances of my experience of the past few weeks:

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes

as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all

Even if they’re a crown of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture.

Still treat each guest honorably,

He may be clearing you out

for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

meet them at the door laughing,

and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,

because each has been sent

as a guide to you.

Today was a refreshing day. Carolyn and I went to the Museum of fine arts and saw the Red Hot Asia exhibit. It was fantastic! Amazing! Incredible! Certainly it was worth the 6 bucks!

This is another picture of the laughing silver giant that is part of the Red Hot Asia exhibit:

Here are a few images from the Red Hot Asia exhibit:

This stuff was just the tip of the iceberg… The exhibit has some amazing works! See it!

These are just a few works I thought to be interesting:

I love the simplicity, balance and dichotomy…

This is a nice picture of a bunch of women in hell. Painted by a man… a religions man. LOL

After seeing Red Hot Asia, Carolyn and I went to eat a Baba Yega’s and then went by The Path of Tea for a bit and then by Barn’s & Noble. Afterwards, we went to are respective homes for some down-time. I got to crack open my new Kim Harrison novel and take a nap. By that time, it was time to meet Jenny for a nice evening.

I love visiting with Jenny for several reasons. However one of the things I truly admire about her is that she follows her inspirations… which, in turn, inspires me LOL…