Life in the fast lane

One recent morning started with a phone call about a death, and continued on, as I afterwards crawled toward the makings of life giving coffee, to frozen pipes.  Needless to say, by the time we lugged in the big container of (semi frozen) water we keep outside for these kinds of situations, the pipes unfroze and the miracle of caffeine was therefore forthcoming.  Sometimes I wonder if I really have developed some sang-froid about things, or if at long last it’s just All Gotten To Me.  I almost didn’t care.  Finally, of course, we did the sensible thing, which is to fill up several containers of water one night, leaving them to be used in frosty mornings.  Which although there have been many lately, the pipes, no doubt knowing that we’re Prepared, have stayed flexible and flowing.  Just shows you.

In the meantime, the Partner had what *I* think is a brilliant “gun control” idea.  Just make assault rifles and fully automatic weapons REALLYREALLYREALLY expensive.  Wouldn’t that be sensible?   Then, even at all the gun shows and places where guns trade hands, they’d still be way pricey.  Putting them out of the convenience realm, into a more Prada-esque spot.  At least for the regular shoppers, and not the people who get their guns directly from…well.  Who knows?  Not Walmart, anyway.   In the meantime, all I can say is, REALLY?  How many more times do we have to have this exact same non-conversation?  This is one crazy country, really, the States.  Yes, the right to keep and bear arms is important.  However.  Like everything else there should be some common sense and rational thought involved.   The average citizenry really don’t need guns and ammo that turn human bodies into gelatinous nothing-ness and can do it eighty times in thirty seconds.  What, and who? are we defending ourselves from?  Because it seems to me that the really scary and threatening stuff? is not amenable, at least in my life, to use of that particular negotiating tool, tempting as it may be.  We live in a society that boasts the highest prison population in the world (or close- maybe we’re only number two!); has a small percentage of the world’s total population yet has 50% of the firearms available to its public; and, in which public entertainment features corpses, violence and blood, not to mention vituperation and rudeness, on a constant basis.  Then people act surprised when the sh*t hits the f@n.  I find THAT more confusing than the fact that people do go over the edge and do terrible things.

Still.  The Sisyphusian nature of reality is something I’ve been thinking about lately.  You know, the guy who had to roll a boulder up hill as his Appointed Task, and as soon as he got it to the top, it would roll right back down.  He’d start over, and…..It reminded me of the Buddhist story about Milarepa and Marpa the Translator, one of whom was teacher and the other student although I can’t remember who was who.  Anyway, the student was told by the teacher to stack a quantity of rocks up.  This, he got to to over and over and over and over.  Finally, he understood.  Sisyphus never did, far as I know.  It’s an interesting analysis of reality though, and how we deal with it.  In some way, and Buddhism recognizes this in a way that what we may call the Abrahamic religions do not seem to, life is really about stacking those rocks, pushing that boulder, all of it.  Over and over.  The point may really be to give up the thinking about accomplishment and domination (this hill! then the next one! my rock tower will be the biggest! etc.) and all the things that our mind creates around things, and simply focus on the task itself.  The things themselves then, the rocks and everything around them, ultimately take on a light of their own and there is a peace in all that that is notably lacking in the push and shove mode.  Of course then one gets to deal with fear and all the other things that exist  in one’s head whilst progressing to a more illuminated spot.  But, it really is true: focus on the work itself and stay in the present.  Easy to say.  Hard to do at times.  Things, though, do move and change is the essence of everything even when it seems to be standing still- pay attention to small things and eventually you see miracles (Pablo Casals) and have ever expanding moments of peace and, yes, love.  Today’s effort in that realm today was, for one thing, to clean up my email.  YE GODS.  Never again, let’s just say.  I had to review the entirety of the last three years just to get through all the stuff I’d saved for later…..ugh!  It was like hangers! or rabbits!  There seemed to be MILLIONS of those pesky emails multiplying before my eyes and God only knows where they all came from.  And this was all even without the endless notifications about my criminal record, inheritance from Ghana or the Hague, and suggestions for anatomical improvements to a body I don’t possess.   My goodness, we’ve been BUSY.  In any event, my new motto is: the delete button is your friend, unless you like having your hand look like the Claw of Things Past.  This necessity to pay attention and keep things simple runs through everything in life, of course.  I’m just wondering when I’m going to be finished going through the wreckage, since this period of time seems to be largely involved with re-doing all the things that didn’t have adequate foundations to begin with.  Which appears to involve a whole lotta stuff, Gentle Reader.  There is something really interesting, though, in looking at things in a totally different way than ever before, and mostly I guess I have to say I am grateful for this opportunity. (Really! bwahahahahahahahaaaaaaaa……)  It feels as though we may all be flying through the air by the seat of our pants for quite some time to come; perhaps it really is about coming to our collective senses and learning to enjoy the ride.  Regardless of the mode of transport.

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