Humans are re-active beings and most of the behaviors we see are responsive ones…we put on our jackets because it’s cold; we detour because of the latest sinkhole. While this seems obvious, it is amazing that we still retain the illusion of control. We cannot stop the “slings and arrows” that fly toward our heads, we can only take cover. Sink holes, tsunamis’, hurricanes, illness …all of life’s events mandate our response. We are currently experiencing the far reaching effects of a pandemic and this sparks a meditation on the question of whether -or not- we actually control any aspects of our existence.
Clearly there are higher powers at work in the world. We may be riders on the storm but the storm defies us and our inability to control it. Our judgments are often seen in plans of avoidance; quarantine, dis-engagement, bunkering up. When it comes to power we are seriously outclassed.
The delusion of control is not monolithic and impervious in 92128 and this is the direct result of the decades we have accumulated. Experience teaches us that control is a concept…not a fact of life. Time teaches us that change- and entropy-are inevitable as we walk a bit slower, sprout a few wrinkles and slowly fold ourselves in and out of bed each day. We have lost loved ones to disease and suffered from many events that are beyond our control. We hope for the strength to respond positively to life events.
There is one thing we can control…our minds. We can commit to the idea of making things better. Our reactions to what occurs can be of a type that ameliorates pain and loss. The Gang of Eight all believe in this type of reaction. We march, volunteer, help victims of everything from domestic violence to hunger; at the end of the day we choose to believe in altruism. I met a friend today who is off to a march against human trafficking, my wife is off with other gang members to help the victims of domestic violence. Another gang member is sitting at his computer working for many causes in the helping professions.
Our reactions are all we have and who we are. We are Zen. Teacher Shunryu Suzuki puts it elegantly: “the true purpose (of Zen) is to observe things as they are and to let everything go as it goes…Zen practice is to open our small mind.” The small mind tells us we have control, the Zen mind teaches that our response is all we have.
Let us respond well.
Olio Folio 
The summary in my head = Life is shit. Maybe?
Yes, it can be. It IS for some. Most?
But…and follow me here…once you learn enough about yourself you may find the simple is rewarding. The boiled down version of what plucks at your brain strings is obtainable. You’re not on the red fucking carpet of the Grammys but the chemicals in your brain go “yea, nice. You did it.”
Find the well you can consistently draw from. Disclosure: You may have to build the well itself first.
I believe, in my spine/core/dna/bones that this type of sharing (aka this blog) makes a difference. It’s effort. It’s outreach in both directions. My dad taught me the value of that a long time ago and though I miss the mark of spending said time wisely KINDA OFTEN, I can identify those who grasp it pretty quick. Those who be walking the walk.
When you desire to be something so intensely, hit or miss, you get pretty good at grokking character, at an academic level at least.
Walk with those people.
Beautiful entry. The writing itself had some very smart choices (zip code representing your community was galvanizing even from the outside, The Gang of Eight is stupendous – those are eight people I want to spend time with).
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