Pleased

This is a picture of me, in the scudgy bookstore mirror hence the spotage, being incredibly pleased. I left my camera in a friends tool trailer, of course this was accidental. The camera wasn't tied down, it was actually sitting on a shelf. When he found it it was on the floor surrounded by heavy pieces of steel tools...completely unharmed. I didn't find out if it was okay for several days.

I am pleased.

However, I am pleased for several reasons. The most obvious is that my camera was returned intact. The more profound reason is that I had given up all hope and it didn't really matter. I actually achieved un-attachment to something that in general is very important to me. The first evening I hardly slept worrying about it. By the time I got to where I was meeting with my friend I forgot to ask him about it...until he mentioned it. An interesting journey from point a to point b.

I feel like I won twice here. I got to come to terms with my own materialism and I got to get back what I lost.

I am thankful for both the lesson and the outcome.

Debate

Tonight after Tai Chi class I am going to watch the Vice Presidential debate at Parker Pie in West Glover Vermont.

Parker Pie is in the back of an old country store. Some local young people returned to W. Glover after finishing college and decided to start a pizza place. They have three booths and three tables, a bar that seats two, free Internet access, awesome pizza, great beer, and it is generally jam packed with folks every night, young, the very young, old, the very old and middle aged folks. I love it there and I think that watching this debate there is really the only thing to do it. I think to watch this debate we should be amid a crowd of like-thinking people, we should definitely have beer handy and pizza with gourmet toppings doesn't hurt either.

It is difficult for me to watch a woman like the candidate. She is really giving women in America a bad name. Women in general a bad name. There are many ways in which I want to see her lose this debate, but it is definitely a torn feeling. Women are equal to men, can think as well as men, can debate as well as men, but I don't think this particular woman can...

There was so much excitement about Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama for the dems. We tossed the stereotypes out the window and stepped into the 21st Century. I think the Republican party made a mockery of that achievement by nominating this woman and thinking that she in any way is a peer of Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Enough said. I am glad I will be among friends.

The path of least resistance to pure existance

A customer, and might I say friend, came in yesterday. He is truly working to achieve enlightenment and is forging his path through studying, meditation, yoga etc. His young son recently went off to college and he is now alone. He feels concentrated on his objective. I pointed out to him that he doesn't have much contact with other folks, but he says he does. Visiting in the post office and bookstore, etc.

He is very clear.

I, however, am not. Yes, I am caught up in judgement, this election is terrifying to me, but I do think that pure existence must include some kind of love of others. I can tell that I don't actually need other people, I could exist without them and probably be relatively happy. But I want connection, I yearn toward it, I really like other people. Each of us need to find our way to enlightenment individually I guess, what works for one is not always so for another. In many ways I long for less attachment, but I think of those attachments as being to material things not humans.

I keep thinking about "enlightenment" which isn't even defined here. What is it actually? Can we achieve true enlightenment by isolation? Is that real? There are so many questions.