Thursday, March 26, 2009
I just re-read L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time and found myself loving it as much at age 50 as I did in the 5th grade when our teacher read it to us.
Out of curiosity, I read some reviews of the book in Amazon and was struck by some with a pronounced Christian slant. A couple I read objected to the characterization of Jesus as a "fighter" or the mention of Buddha at all. What almost always strikes me is the blatant presentation of belief as fact, i.e. they seem to confuse believing with knowing, faith with fact. What is the real shame is that they usually seem unaware that of the confusion. Moreover, they often proceed to judge and damn others from their confused stance. And that, is the real rub.
So, for me, my challenge is to not want to change them. That's my spiritual path.
Out of curiosity, I read some reviews of the book in Amazon and was struck by some with a pronounced Christian slant. A couple I read objected to the characterization of Jesus as a "fighter" or the mention of Buddha at all. What almost always strikes me is the blatant presentation of belief as fact, i.e. they seem to confuse believing with knowing, faith with fact. What is the real shame is that they usually seem unaware that of the confusion. Moreover, they often proceed to judge and damn others from their confused stance. And that, is the real rub.
So, for me, my challenge is to not want to change them. That's my spiritual path.
Monday, March 23, 2009
A movie I really enjoyed: Raise the Red Lantern. A Chinese film set in the 20's about a young woman who becomes a concubine and the intrigues that follow. Thought provoking and beautifully filmed and directed.
Still using the Dvorak keyboard layout—at work, a TypeMatrix keyboard—and my speed and fluidity is coming right along. It's no longer a chore to type although my mind will still sort of lock up when encountering odd key sequences. Common words though, just roll off the fingertips in a way they can't on a QWERTY layout. There is a smoothness there that makes typing feel very different, very nice.
Still using the Dvorak keyboard layout—at work, a TypeMatrix keyboard—and my speed and fluidity is coming right along. It's no longer a chore to type although my mind will still sort of lock up when encountering odd key sequences. Common words though, just roll off the fingertips in a way they can't on a QWERTY layout. There is a smoothness there that makes typing feel very different, very nice.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
As I've gotten back into climbing in the last year or so I have clearly seen three weaknesses: Forearm strength, forearm endurance, and footwork. At my age, I have to be careful in training my forearms so that I don't injure myself, my hands in particular. That makes footwork a good candidate for focus right now.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Letting go of attachments has got to be the hardest thing I've ever tried to do.
I see someone I've known for decades crying over a wrong I committed against them, and the crying is coming after days of them puzzling through their rage at me. I want to try to comfort and care for them because that's what I've tried to do—ever so poorly I now understand—for my entire adult life. I can't though because I destroyed the thing I claimed to love more than anything. I am the reason for the tears.
Sometimes I simply cannot believe the harm I've done and somehow I'm supposed to let go of the past. I understand it intellectually, but I reckon it will be a while before my heart understands and I can forgive myself.
I look and I see the twenty year old that I fell in love with, not the fifty year old who is rightfully filled with rage at me.
What have I done?
I tell myself that if I could have done better, I would have, and now that I can do better, I am. It seems a bitter consolation in light of the human wreckage strewn in my wake.
I see someone I've known for decades crying over a wrong I committed against them, and the crying is coming after days of them puzzling through their rage at me. I want to try to comfort and care for them because that's what I've tried to do—ever so poorly I now understand—for my entire adult life. I can't though because I destroyed the thing I claimed to love more than anything. I am the reason for the tears.
Sometimes I simply cannot believe the harm I've done and somehow I'm supposed to let go of the past. I understand it intellectually, but I reckon it will be a while before my heart understands and I can forgive myself.
I look and I see the twenty year old that I fell in love with, not the fifty year old who is rightfully filled with rage at me.
What have I done?
I tell myself that if I could have done better, I would have, and now that I can do better, I am. It seems a bitter consolation in light of the human wreckage strewn in my wake.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
A couple good movies of late:
I loved The House of Flying Daggers. Beautiful visuals, wonderful choreography and performances made for a martial arts film that I enjoyed as much as any film I've seen in a while.
In a slightly different vein, The Forbidden Kingdom with Jackie Chan and Jet Li was a lot of fun, perhaps a touch more lighthearted. I confess a real fondness for Chan, his acrobatic talent and his delightful sense of humor.
And my children and I simply laughed our heads off at Get Smart. Fabulous!
On other fronts:
I had gotten to the point where I was not doing my upper body workouts because they were taking almost an hour. And so, I was doing nothing. Non smart. What I've been doing for weeks now is interleaving little sets of levers or pullups into my daily life instead. When I walk past the pullup bar, I see how long I can hold a one-legged lever. Or do 5 pullups. Things like that. If I'm a touch sore, I back off a little for the day. Lo and behold, my strength is coming back up. It may not be the ideal way to train, but it's clearly better than doing nothing. It also makes the time spent working out seem almost imperceptable. It's basically free and so it gets done.
Spiritually, I've been working to increase my awareness of myself. Writings by Anthony De Mello are particularly helpful. I have his The Way to Love and Awareness. Wonderful stuff! The blending of Buddhist and Christian ideas is beautiful and useful in immediate and practical ways.
I loved The House of Flying Daggers. Beautiful visuals, wonderful choreography and performances made for a martial arts film that I enjoyed as much as any film I've seen in a while.
In a slightly different vein, The Forbidden Kingdom with Jackie Chan and Jet Li was a lot of fun, perhaps a touch more lighthearted. I confess a real fondness for Chan, his acrobatic talent and his delightful sense of humor.
And my children and I simply laughed our heads off at Get Smart. Fabulous!
On other fronts:
I had gotten to the point where I was not doing my upper body workouts because they were taking almost an hour. And so, I was doing nothing. Non smart. What I've been doing for weeks now is interleaving little sets of levers or pullups into my daily life instead. When I walk past the pullup bar, I see how long I can hold a one-legged lever. Or do 5 pullups. Things like that. If I'm a touch sore, I back off a little for the day. Lo and behold, my strength is coming back up. It may not be the ideal way to train, but it's clearly better than doing nothing. It also makes the time spent working out seem almost imperceptable. It's basically free and so it gets done.
Spiritually, I've been working to increase my awareness of myself. Writings by Anthony De Mello are particularly helpful. I have his The Way to Love and Awareness. Wonderful stuff! The blending of Buddhist and Christian ideas is beautiful and useful in immediate and practical ways.
