Lessons from Liquids

I have spent quite a bit of effort in my life being satisfied with what I have and where I am. As we all know, it is not easy to do. There will always be someone with a better car, a better job, a better hobby. (in all cases, replace better with "better") If we continue to look to others to judge our own success and state of achievement, we will always be found wanting.

I think one of the great struggles of life is learning to be happy. All of us are forever chasing that elusive state of contentment, where we want for nothing, enjoy everything. But so few of us ever seem to get there. What is required by the human spirit to be happy? I think first and foremost happiness requires that our human spirit overcomes our human frame. I speak here of the physical nature being subjected to the control of the mind/spirit. When I say physical nature, I am speaking of all of the base impulses of the human. Those impulses that are sometimes referred to as human nature. The desire to indulge in eating too much, the desire to be superior to another, the desire to live in luxury and exert power over those weaker than you. These are all examples of what I refer to as physical nature. If I were to use a judeo-christian synonym, I would call it carnal nature. I feel like this base greed is a big factor that pushes so many to "succeed" in the traditional American sense of acquiring money and possessions. But it is also what keeps us from being happy, no matter what our state of "success." If we want to be truly happy, we need to exercise the power of our mind. We need to be satisfied with what we have. We need to set reasonable goals and enjoy their achievement.

One element of this power of the mind over the carnal can be learned from water. (Incidentally, it can also be learned from the eastern philosophy of Taoism. But they just got it from water, so I am skipping the middle-man.) If you watch a stream flowing down a mountain, the water moves around or over any obstacles in its path. It doesn't protest them. The stream simply incorporates the rocks and obstacles into the path it must follow. Throw a rock, large or small, into the stream and see how the water reacts. It doesn't throw a fit or start complaining about this new problem. It just accepts the new obstacle and works around it. Simply, quietly, peacefully. If we could just learn to accept our problems and work around them, through them or over them without protest, we would be much happier.

Excuse me, Can I ask you a question?

Is there any benefit to always making the responsible choice? If I spend the rest of my life always doing what "should" be done, will I be satisfied with myself? Will I regret that I never hitch-hiked around the country? Will I wish that I had splurged on a cruise or a trip to Kalymnos? What is the benefit of living by your whimsy? So you become a better person because you were homeless in Moab? Do you get more out of life because you went skinny dipping during winter? I have so many questions about how we (I) live our lives. I wonder about all the different choices we have and their various consequences. I wonder about this so much that I even question the justifications of buying a climbing rope or a tent. Why buy those things, when there is school to pay for and food to purchase?

A Challenge

Let us look for those around us who could use our support.

Doc said it'd kill me, but he can't say when

Tonight I went with Matt to an Old Crow Medicine Show concert, and I have to say, those guys put on a better show than Cheap Trick, Blue October and Sevendust combined. They got some real soul and fire in their music. Tons of fun to watch. But, as you know, when I am in these masses of humanity I always get thoughtful about myself and who I want to be. I look around at all of these people and think about them; the way they look, the way they act, the way they smell...and I wonder about how I appear to others. As you may or may not know, it is Stache-tober, and I have appropriately been growing a mustache. But as I looked around at all the people tonight, I realized that I have no desire to be aberrant in my appearance. And it occurred to me that, in todays society, a mustache is a gross (pun intended) deviation from the norm. A scruffy chin, or even a goatee is more acceptable. And with this realization came the knowledge that I don't want to be someone who has to look different for people to validate my existence with their attentions. Or maybe I'm looking to deeply into facial hair...maybe I just realized I don't like mustaches. Either way I am shaving it off. And I'm okay with that. Just like I'm okay with being bland looking, odd smelling, wonderful me.