Obama

This is a wonderful day in America. Those who stand for equality, social justice and economic justice have defeated those who stand for aristocracy, selfishness, and greed by a narrow margin. However, that narrow margin can make the difference between a descent into feudalism and a progression to a new enlightenment.

President-Elect Obama is perhaps the finest public example of practice I have seen in my lifetime. His moderation, deliberation and obviously sincere commitment to right action for the people are signs of a personal practice which must go deep.

I take his example to heart. I incorporate that inspiration into my own practice.

This is how we, as human beings, can evolve together. By sharing the strengths of our individual practices, we can do great things. But, we must support those in our lives who are committed to practice. And, we must educate those around us who have yet not committed to an evolutionary practice of their own by our example and sharing.

Beauty

Visual perceptions of human beauty are obviously learned behaviors. What is beautiful in one culture is not beautiful in another. What one person finds beautiful in a lover may horrify another.

Yet, there are social trends of beauty. These are taught to a receptive public by the drumming of visual commercial media. Long hair, short hair, tall, short, thin and plump. These all come and go with the whim of advertisers and the appetite of consumers for change.

There are also basic, generally accepted elements of human beauty which include youthfulness, muscularity, symmetry, smoothness of skin, large eyes, thick hair, white teeth, etc..

The current materialism in society, combined with relentless saturation of daily life with commercial media which use human beauty to sell things, has led to a reduction of human beauty to its superficial material value. Beauty has been reduced to a manipulative tool to achieve materialistic gains. This is a generalized prostitution ethic, which is revealing itself on all levels of society.

One result of this ethic is the devaluation of hard work and merit as keys to success. The consequences of this are obvious. When those with marketable beauty become catapulted to positions of responsibility and celebrity over those with merit, genius or dedication, the fabric of society deteriorates.

Part of my practice is a conscious attempt to focus on merit, decency and intelligence in the people around me. This practice rapidly has made me aware that those with marketable beauty are seldom the focus of my attention in public settings or in general interactions. If conventional beauty has become power and power corrupts, then conventional beauty corrupts.

Pain

I had a recent surgery on my left foot's sole and middle toe. The sole's circular hole, about half an inch in diameter, goes down through many layers of skin to the deep red dermis underneath. It is painful when I put weight on it. The middle toe is missing one third of its tip. It isn't very happy when it is up against the inside of a shoe.

I resolved to maintain my life's routines through the inconvenience of the pain. Mornings are new beginnings. Striking the right balance. Avoiding the kind of movement which will cause knee and hip problems later. Navigating the stairs. Making my peace with the unavoidable pain.

This is a tremendous opportunity to learn about my practice and the realities of my daily life. What do I value? How committed am I to do certain activities? How flexible are my needs and desires. What is my true relationship between my consciousness and its source, my body?

So far, I am learning that I can work with pain consciously. I am also learning how much of my energy is eaten by the pain. I am using this awareness to feed my sense of compassion for those who live with chronic pain. I am also using it to temper my impatience with those who are unable to tolerate pain or discomfort.

Dealing with pain is a challenge. And, the brain has a mechanism which erases the experiential memory of pain once it is resolved. So, if I am not in pain, I do not "feel" your pain, as much as I may empathize from past experience.

My history of experiencing pain has been essential to my own personal evolution. Pain teaches humility, patience and temperance, if you are a willing student.