Long Nook Beach, Truro, Mass.In an effort last night to still the turmoil in my head, let go of my anger and forgive myself and others for who and what we are, my mind drifted back to the Cape and the refuge I found there in the wide expanse of dunes and ocean, of marshes and birds, where without humans around to alter things, the geography was much the same as it was from the beginning of time. Storms come, and the coastline alters, the tides rise and ebb, but there is a spareness about the place that strips away the cares of the world.
And then I thought about part of a radio program I heard last Sunday morning, "Speaking of Faith." The guest that week was a Buddhist monk named Thich Nhat Hanh, and he was taking listeners on a radio pilgrimage at a Christian conference center in rural Wisconsin. Talking about "walking meditation" and the inner peace it brings, he offered gentle wisdom for living in an angry and violent world and the importance of becoming mindful and at peace to combat it.
When the question was asked, "What difference does it make in the larger world if just a handful of people like yourself go to a retreat and practice peace and mercy? Aren't you just a drop in the ocean?" he replied with a phrase that is too wise for most of us to grasp.
The monk said, "Yes, it is true that I am a drop in the ocean. But I am the ocean. I am one American, but I am America."
Maybe each one of us makes a difference -- or not. But do we need to add to the balance of anger in the world? I'm trying my best to be one drop of peace in an ocean of violence. And if enough of us do that, we can at least create a river of peace that flows into that ocean.
3 comments:
Our minds are running in the same channel this morning. Yesterday I read an essay by James Thurber, written in 1937. He wrote about the advent of machines and technology saying, "At any rate, it has come about that so-called civilized man finds himself today surrounded by the myriad mechanical devices of a technological world." If only he knew! (Actually, he probably guessed!) So I'm thinking along the lines of how much difference it makes to get away from technology which is a destroyer of peace..the TV which has dumbed us down, pulling us away from books, the computers which both connect us to those we love who are far away and remove us from connecting eyeball to eyeball with our neighbors. So my question for myself is how to find to find peace with and amongst all the machines.
Tall grass? Get goats? Maybe not, but it's tempting. Would you rather be caring for a live goat or wrestling a huge machine? Of course, there are all those RULES now...like no goats, no chickens, etc. in our yards. Ned Ludd might've been fighting for his livelihood when he destroyed stocking frames, but the Luddites were probably actually fighting for all our souls.
And this from a minor geek...holding two opposing ideas in my mind is making it hard for me to function.
Our society is driving us all crazy. How else to explain the rise in mind-controlling drugs? That's a topic for another entry.
Dad once told me to get several guinea pigs and let them multiply and turn them loose in the yard so I wouldn't have to mow. Crazy? I think not.
Guinea pigs instead of goats? I didn't know that! Sounds like once again, Peck was right! Go for it! (Seriously, can you have any "livestock" there?) This is going to be a growing problem for you (forgive the pun). Tell George it's condo time and see if that gets him on the John Deere. He can wear a mask!
Post a Comment