Memorials

Memorials are for the living. Not for the dead. The dead do not need memorials.

Evil

Evil is not a vague, abstract, simple moralistic concept. Evil is violence. Evil is mindless hatred. Evil is the decision in any moment to deliberately harm another being. On May 27, Russian police and skinheads chose to be evil by violently attacking peaceful gay/lesbian Russians who were attempting to hold a gay-pride march in Moscow. Marchers were ruthlessly beaten and arrested. The current Pope, a former Nazi supporter, has been in Poland all week. He has been promoting the continuation of his predecessor's evil in that country, where the government has also oppressed free expression by gay/lesbian people in the city of Krakow. Evil is the perversion of laws and democracy to propagate war and the massacre of poor desperate youngsters who seek security by selling their lives to the military establishment. Evil is pretending to be compassionate toward illegal immigrants when, in fact, they are being exploited as the cheapest possible labor by a wealthy and greedy society. Evil is not an abstract concept at all. My practice entails struggling with evil in my life from moment to moment.

Trellis

I am building a small trellis for my patio. Actually, I am building it for red bean vine and morning glory vine, which are impatiently growing by the inch in pots. So, though I was inspired by the practical advantages of the plants' beauty and a privacy barrier between my property and the one next door, I am really working for the plants. They will be able to fulfill their natural urges to climb, produce seeds and propagate their species. Birds and bees will also be well served. (I am hoping for a hummingbird.) What a wonderful illustration of ecology in the human-dominated urban world.

Hair

Hair is dead skin, like fingernails or claws. It grows about half-inch per month. The realization that hair grows at a discernible rate always puts me in touch with my mortality and my body's automatic changes related to age. I cut my own hair. The harvesting of my hair every so often is part of my practice. Cutting my own hair necessitates looking at myself in mirrors. Something I rarely do. I am forced to note the changes in my body in this process. I meditate on the loss of time and tissue as I sweep up the clippings from the bathroom floor. For me, this is a good exercise in being in touch with the reality of my one life's span.

Water

Water is a powerful force. Here in the Northeastern US, we have had an unusual 12 inches of rain in the past week. Water has invaded basements and saturated the land. As industrialized and urban humans, many of us are very alienated from Nature. Water becomes the enemy. The same water that sustains our lives. How strange we are as a species.

Friendship

Friendship is a process. Though we say, "I have a friend who....," friends are not possessions; they are partners in an exchange of support, intimacy and affection. The process of making and keeping friendships requires commitment and generosity of spirit. The rewards are great. Like exercise, maintaining friendships requires sustained effort and yields rewards to your wellbeing commensurate to your investment. I strive in my daily practice to cherish my friendships by nurturing them.

Wanting

The wheel of suffering in this world is fueled by wanting. Yet the ruling world culture, based in Capitalism, is motivated by wanting. As the human species spins more and more toward Capitalist supremacy, it will also spin more and more toward increased suffering. It will be that suffering which will eventually bring down Capitalism. We live on a rock in an atmospheric bubble in a vast and chaotic Universe. If we live responsibly in balance and harmony with the planet, we may indeed evolve to see our species outlive the life of the planet itself. This would be an evolutionary breakthrough of Universal merit. However, if we persist in wanting what we know is harmful to ourselves and our planet, we as a species will most likely regress or perish. Each person can contribute to human evolution by choosing to live in responsible balance through thought and meditation. The ability to do so is what makes us human.

Immigration

Migration is a natural animal process as old as animal species. Yet, human beings always segregate themselves from other animals by proclaiming themselves above the laws of nature and under the rule of human law. The current immigration issues on the planet are symptoms of a natural imbalance in the human population. A significant portion, the vast majority, of the world's humans are poor and ignorant. Yet, the educated and affluent minority occupies cities in countries which have developed educational and social infrastructure. The many wish to live like the few. The few are not capable of living as they live if the many demand to share their infrastructure without bringing any resources to that infrastructure. Therefore, the many are being allowed to invade affluent societies (infrastructures) to work as drones for the few. The few don't realize that the drain on their societies, especially democratic and socialist societies, will inevitably bring down the standard of living in those societies. These are not issues which can be solved by sentimental anecdotes about gardeners and house painters looking for a better life for their (too many) children. These issues can only be solved by the eventual education of the newcomers. This can take a very long time. Centuries. In the meantime, a new Dark Age approaches. If you don't take History's lessons to heart, you will be doomed to repeating those lessons.