This semester each of the students has been asked to “teach” the other students about something in their life that sustains them. The idea of sustainability we’ve been exploring applies not only to preserving the earth’s finite resources, but to preserving ourselves and our communities through actively seeking social, mental/emotional and in many cases spiritual enrichment in a healthy way. We’ve had students speak about political activism, time spent at a Buddhist monastery, social networking, apple crisp and guerrilla gardening.
I wanted to give my friends a taste of the evenings I’ve spent at home with my family. We would sit and read to each other - I would often read, because I love it, but we all take our turn – and dad would have his chips and salsa, and mom would have a little wine, Nathan his ice cream, perhaps. We would just sit and read, and then maybe play a game of cards… hearts, most likely. This made me so happy to be alive and filled me with good will for my family and for other people – it gave me energy to go out into the world. It made me so grateful for the privileges I have, and grateful that I could enjoy them without spending money, sitting in front of a TV or using any resources. Something about the simplicity of this time with people who are in a predetermined group but still choose to spend time together just to enjoy one another feels like magic to me.
I gathered my classmates, settled them in one of our rooms, poured them some wine and read a quirky short story I had found just a few days before. I was surprised at how willingly they sat through the story – so silent and attentive. In this age (and with this group of “creative” – i.e. fidgety - people) I would have guessed at least half would have been tittering softly or squirming about by the second page, but every one listened respectfully and lovingly until the end. The wine may have had something to do with it, but I think we’ve actually developed a really healthy level of respect and care for one another that shows especially when we’re all in the same room. It’s been incredible to me how cohesive and supportive the group has been in the last couple weeks. We’ve seen uglier sides of the group and of individuals, me included – seeing one another daily for hours on end and then going home to sleep in the same house at the end of the day will bring those things out – but when all is said and done, the group leaves me feeling pretty optimistic about the human potential to live in community. And it’s lovely to know that storytelling doesn’t have to be lost on my generation.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
November 11 - Volatile Vegetarians
I picked up some vegan ice cream (rice cream, technically) from our little food shop today and read the ingredients with considerable interest. Apparently they’ve put something call vegetarian stabilizers in my chocolate treat. Do vegetarians need to be stabilized? If so, why is this not public knowledge? Why must these stabilizers be placed surreptitiously into innocent looking dessert containers? In addition, the company that puts out these stabilizer-infused sweets is called B’Nice... coincidence? I think not.
Friday, November 7, 2008
November 11 - Happily Diving into Hippiedom
A friend of mine made a comment that she was bothered by the fact that Buddhists believe that life is suffering, because she thoroughly enjoys living.
I definitely appreciate that perspective, but we just spent a day learning about Buddhism at a local Tibetan retreat center, and I was exposed to a whole new way of thinking about suffering.
According to the man who spoke to us for the majority of the day (whom I really respected for his thoughtfulness, attentive listening and willingness to be challenged ideologically) life is suffering according to the Buddha (which means “enlightened one”, much like Christ means Messiah) but the definition of suffering is not necessarily pain and misery. The way I understand it, the Buddhist version of “suffering” can almost be equated with change (I’m new to these ancient ideas, so I apologize if I’m a little off). Buddhists believe that all humans are looking for lasting happiness (or peace, joy, contentment). They believe that we search for this lasting happiness (or even consciously for temporary happiness) through means outside of ourselves, such as a partner, money, possessions, food, drink – anything a human can desire and/or revile. They believe that life is a cycle of desiring something, receiving or not receiving it and reacting to getting/not getting what one wants, which leads to more desiring and reacting – like waves that come in and go out unceasingly. It is “suffering” that there is no constant – even the strongest love will change over the years. Wanting more of what we believe is good based on experience is suffering, because we can never have enough and too much is unhealthy or just makes us miserable, so we constantly try to change things in our lives to balance ourselves out. We are subject to the law of cause and effect; so that no action we take exists in a vacuum – we are constantly experiencing consequences of actions previously taken and helping to create our own future through our present actions. Buddhists believe this cycle can be stopped when the waves are calmed (sorry, I adore metaphors) and the water is still. When water is still, it far more accurately reflects what is in front of it, so Buddhists believe that through meditation and (in Tibetan Buddhism) public debates one can get to know oneself enough to recognize and therefore have greater control over the waves and can see life more clearly, like in a still pond.
I really admire some of the concepts in Buddhism. I’m not shaving my head and donning orange just yet, but I think there are some very valuable ways of looking at the world to be explored. I’m sure that’s true of most worldviews/religions, but I’m especially intrigued by this one, because it advocates greater self-awareness and deep thoughtfulness about morality.
Speaking of extremes (such as orange robes and hairless heads), I’ve recently decided to be vegan. The way animals are raised and processed in industrial agriculture is pretty disturbing – unhealthy for them, us, and disgustingly so for the environment. Since I’m in a community that supports that sort of decision, they always have vegan options at meals - even if I’m the only one who’ll take advantage of that option. It’s a choice that reminds me daily that there’s something I can do (or in this case, not do / eat) that will decrease harm to the environment, and I’m in a place that makes it ridiculously easy – how could I not try it out? It will be more difficult when I start traveling, but I researched and asked around about keeping myself healthy, and I’m taking vitamins and Omega-3 oils daily and eating plenty of soy and nuts for protein, and I’ll just keep paying attention to how my body reacts and play this more-or-less by ear. To be honest, my mood has improved greatly, and I have plenty of energy – I got headaches for the first few days, but that tends to happen when I give anything up. And the great news is, most dark chocolate doesn’t have any animal products in it.
When I get back to Oregon, I’m considering being a “Freegan” – that is, only monetarily supporting non-animal products, but allowing more flexibility when it comes to free food. The idea (for me) is to remove my support from the industry (which excludes local, small scale farms; they’re really struggling and often produce animal products in a healthy/humane/sustainable way). I’m looking at my spending money as a way to vote on how & where I want my food to be grown. And on the even brighter side, I make a mean vegan oatmeal raisin cookie. Let me know if you’re interested.
I definitely appreciate that perspective, but we just spent a day learning about Buddhism at a local Tibetan retreat center, and I was exposed to a whole new way of thinking about suffering.
According to the man who spoke to us for the majority of the day (whom I really respected for his thoughtfulness, attentive listening and willingness to be challenged ideologically) life is suffering according to the Buddha (which means “enlightened one”, much like Christ means Messiah) but the definition of suffering is not necessarily pain and misery. The way I understand it, the Buddhist version of “suffering” can almost be equated with change (I’m new to these ancient ideas, so I apologize if I’m a little off). Buddhists believe that all humans are looking for lasting happiness (or peace, joy, contentment). They believe that we search for this lasting happiness (or even consciously for temporary happiness) through means outside of ourselves, such as a partner, money, possessions, food, drink – anything a human can desire and/or revile. They believe that life is a cycle of desiring something, receiving or not receiving it and reacting to getting/not getting what one wants, which leads to more desiring and reacting – like waves that come in and go out unceasingly. It is “suffering” that there is no constant – even the strongest love will change over the years. Wanting more of what we believe is good based on experience is suffering, because we can never have enough and too much is unhealthy or just makes us miserable, so we constantly try to change things in our lives to balance ourselves out. We are subject to the law of cause and effect; so that no action we take exists in a vacuum – we are constantly experiencing consequences of actions previously taken and helping to create our own future through our present actions. Buddhists believe this cycle can be stopped when the waves are calmed (sorry, I adore metaphors) and the water is still. When water is still, it far more accurately reflects what is in front of it, so Buddhists believe that through meditation and (in Tibetan Buddhism) public debates one can get to know oneself enough to recognize and therefore have greater control over the waves and can see life more clearly, like in a still pond.
I really admire some of the concepts in Buddhism. I’m not shaving my head and donning orange just yet, but I think there are some very valuable ways of looking at the world to be explored. I’m sure that’s true of most worldviews/religions, but I’m especially intrigued by this one, because it advocates greater self-awareness and deep thoughtfulness about morality.
Speaking of extremes (such as orange robes and hairless heads), I’ve recently decided to be vegan. The way animals are raised and processed in industrial agriculture is pretty disturbing – unhealthy for them, us, and disgustingly so for the environment. Since I’m in a community that supports that sort of decision, they always have vegan options at meals - even if I’m the only one who’ll take advantage of that option. It’s a choice that reminds me daily that there’s something I can do (or in this case, not do / eat) that will decrease harm to the environment, and I’m in a place that makes it ridiculously easy – how could I not try it out? It will be more difficult when I start traveling, but I researched and asked around about keeping myself healthy, and I’m taking vitamins and Omega-3 oils daily and eating plenty of soy and nuts for protein, and I’ll just keep paying attention to how my body reacts and play this more-or-less by ear. To be honest, my mood has improved greatly, and I have plenty of energy – I got headaches for the first few days, but that tends to happen when I give anything up. And the great news is, most dark chocolate doesn’t have any animal products in it.
When I get back to Oregon, I’m considering being a “Freegan” – that is, only monetarily supporting non-animal products, but allowing more flexibility when it comes to free food. The idea (for me) is to remove my support from the industry (which excludes local, small scale farms; they’re really struggling and often produce animal products in a healthy/humane/sustainable way). I’m looking at my spending money as a way to vote on how & where I want my food to be grown. And on the even brighter side, I make a mean vegan oatmeal raisin cookie. Let me know if you’re interested.
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