I came upon this horse the other day and just could not pass by without taking a picture, which I did with some difficulty. Her companion, a robust creature, was pushing and shoving me vigorously with her head knocking me off-balance however I prevailed. There is no knowing why her tongue was permanently protruding though. I love horses. Whatever they look like and whatever crazy things they do. And hopefully this is a reasonable lead in to one last quote before going on to other things…..
Man is disturbed not by things, but by the views he takes of them.
The Art of Looking, a book reviewed extensively in Brain Pickings might at first glance appear a bit off topic in terms of Buddhist practice. However read on, take a look! There is talk of presence and paying attention and noticing. Although I have not had a chance to read all of the article quite yet what I have read resonates.
One of our senior monks will talk about perception from time to time. Our ears know how to hear, our eyes know how to see. What is needed is to loosen our tendency to go out there hunting. Indeed, more and more I am realizing one need not go out there seeking with ones eyes or ears or any of the other senses – what is there comes in!
About 4% of the population hear voices. These people literally hear voices in their heads which nobody else can hear. This is not the same as the chatter just about everybody hears in their minds.
In the two videos, found at the bottom of the home page, Rufus May talks about an approach that he and others have developed to support voice hearers. There is much that we can learn for ourselves from these talks as well as become better educated, more understanding and compassionate regarding voice hearers.
It is notoriously difficult to photograph creatures. The smaller they are the harder it is to have all the moving parts distinct and visible with a facial expression they would be proud of! In the case to these two Jack Russell Terriers, parked outside of a local sandwich shop, I had a lucky break. The man in the shop explained that they were advertising.
We are constantly on the move physically aren’t we, let alone the shifting about in our heads! Even when sitting still doing nothing in particular one part or another is moving. Wriggling, adjusting position, raising an arm to adjust clothing, crossing and recrossing legs. Our face is constantly animated even when not talking and simply listening to somebody else. I notice this particularly when using a webcam to talk on Skype. If the other person is animated, shifting about a lot, it can be disturbing and general restlessness can set in on both sides of the screen! The non talking head can be as expressive as on a silent movie. On the other hand I’ve sat in on a Skype call with several people on camera who were not restless and that was a deeply moving event. At times we all fell silent together. It wasn’t planned to be that way.
Talking on-line and being able to see oneself in the ever-present tiny pop out window and getting constant feed back is great real-time feedback. It is showing up habits of how ones speech is augmented by well established mannerisms. And how physical discomfort or fatigue effects the quality of the speaking too! The other day I saw this happening and seeing and hearing the feedback I quickly switched to a more supportive chair. That made all the difference. Without that visual feedback I’d probably not have noticed the fatigue and slogged on regardless. That is my habit!
I am not advocating for rigidity or for obsessing about body language, not at all. More that how we are in ourselves has an impact on those we are with. And the more we are within our own skin the more others may well be encouraged to do the same. Here is the first photograph I took of the two dogs.
Productive of beauty, bringers of joy.
The plumber came early this morning, his second or possibly third visit to fix a boiler problem. A recent visitor diagnosed the problem and left me with a drawing and the magic words – pressure chamber. But somehow it didn’t seem right to be telling a professional how to do his job. But as it turned out, and with a number pointed questions from me after he’d failed first time around, my visitor had correctly diagnosed the problem. Nothing’s terminal the plumber said as he good-naturedly set to work on that – pressure chamber!
So a successful outcome. Problem fixed. But from past experience that which seems fixed doesn’t stay fixed. Which phone number do you prefer me to use, I asked as he was packing up, just in case err…the problem comes back again.You can have faith in it Reverend, he said. Then he left. Out into the pouring rain to his next job. So I guess we learnt something from each other today.
And the photograph of the daffodils? They reminded me of a much valued aspect of our lives – productivity. Producing goods and services to create wealth. With warmth and all this rain the land is once again growing green. It is becoming productive. Indeed being productive. The lambs are avariciously eating grass. They grow rounder and less bouncy by the day. Soon they will go to the market, get sold and then…eaten! Some may live on to have their own lambs next year. And so the process goes on. Thinking about it I believe I appreciate the flowers and the lambs in equal measure. I’d hope we can appreciate all beings that way, productive or not.
Plumbers, I have to say, hold a special place in my heart.
