Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Thoughts Swimmin' By Like Dolphins


...ever try to take pictures of dolphins from the beach? by the time ya hit the button, they’re gone...so, then, ya start pointing the camera in the general area where you saw them and start clicking, hoping one will appear, and maybe even jump, at just the right moment...which doesn’t usually work so well, either...but, at least you can end up with some nice shots of water...


...my car inspection’s due this week...and it’s gonna cost me a bundle...including the annual couple hundred bucks necessary to make the check engine light go off...only to come back on a week later, and stay on until I fork over another couple hundred dollars next year....I’m thinking about pointing out that I live in the eternal now...so the distinction between this year and last year doesn’t mean anything....somehow, though, I doubt ya can get an inspection sticker with now on it...

...a lotta people’ve been pissed off lately...and not just at town halls and the MTV Awards....I’m talkin’ about the mellow incense-scented environs of the yoga blogosphere, where fierce and sometimes hurtful arguments about corporate sponsorship, lascivious gurus, and the relative merits of divinity and solid abs seem to be poppin' up like poison ivy in a Zen garden....as an ongoing effort to be more compassionate and understanding, and hence less combative, is an essential part of my whole yoga practice thingy, I try to keep out of the fray...at least when the argument’s about yoga...though even that can sometimes be difficult as a one armed handstand...like, sometimes, people are so lacking in compassion and understanding I just feel like smackin’ ‘em upside the head...but I don’t...so that’s at least a start...


...I’ve been told there’s an equivalent to the Golden Rule in every major religious or ethical system...which attests to the fact that people in every society throughout history have needed to be reminded not to act like assholes...and, in the end, there’s really not much to do but keep trying...and try not to be to hard on yourself for not always acting like Gandhi...particularly since, as his biographers can attest, Gandhi didn’t always act like Gandhi, either...

18 comments:

Lea said...

I know what you mean about all the conflict and not just the "war against terror" type conflicts either. Are we progressing as a species or regressing? I can't tell.

Sidhe said...

Perfect timing, I've been struggling for a little bit now with stressors that seem to flow away with the waves in your pictures when I stop to breathe and reflect. Thanks!

WR said...

Wonderful photos and good thoughts...
"try not to be to hard on yourself for not always acting like Gandhi...particularly since, as his biographers can attest, Gandhi didn’t always act like Gandhi, either..." yup, that about says it all!

Carnal Zen said...

"poison ivy in a Zen garden" - I'm sooo stealin that

earthtoholly said...

Wow, beautiful ocean pics, drjay. I especially like your first one--you may not have captured the dolphins, but you did get a bird in your shot. Also, that's a skywatch-worthy golden sky. I haven't been able to capture a nice sunrise or sunset...no interest like you have here.

Sorry to hear the yoga folk are feudin'. Kinda ironic.

Karin Bartimole said...

Ha!! yes, those tiny specks in the vast blue? nearly impossible to photograph from shore. but there's nothing like witnessing those leaps of dolphin joy!
So, if you do make a trip to NY to see Jung's book, let me know- it would be fun to meet you! I have a feeling I'm going to want to see this exhibition a few times.

Unknown said...

LOL...I have several of those dolphin shots. When we look at them now the question is," Why do you have all these shots of people's backsides?" and "What are they looking at? Is someone drowning?"

Kim said...

My check engine light is perpetually on. Even when it goes off, it comes back on a week later like yours. There's just no hope in it.

MyTruth0812 said...

Your photos remind me of my "happy place" -- you know, the place I go in my mind to escape. :) Thanks for posting them.

I also agree with Carnal Zen -- I'm stealing the "poison ivy in a Zen garden" statement. I will find the perfect moment to use it!

digitalzen said...

Try disconnecting, then reconnecting the battery with the ignition off. Give it about two minutes. That will usually send the warning lights to the happy hunting ground for a while.

They only do it to encourage you to come in and spend bucks. The exception is the air bag light. You can't afford to ignore it, but check the fuse yourself first.

Eco Yogini said...

sigh- so true. step back... breathe.

bereweber said...

your last paragraph on Gandhi, reminds me of a The Smiths song lyrics: "It takes guts to be gentle and kind"
mad angry people think that peaceful smiling people got it easy, again, It takes guts to be gentle and kind :D

Anonymous said...

It takes too much energy to argue and spread vitriol - I wonder why they all waste so much precious energy on destructive things instead of constructive things. But then maybe I only learnt that with a bit of age/experience on my side. Humans are complex and some just aren't worth the energy investigating further ... lol!

skyewriter said...

It's always go good to read your thoughts... swimming, floating, turning, standing on one hand :).

It keeps me mindful to maintain my own circle of quiet in the midst of all of the shouting.

I don't tell you as often as I should; I read all the time, but at moments I cannot write anything I feel good enough about to hit the "publish your comment" in this most excellent community you have assembled here, Dr. Jay.

Namaste

the walking man said...

I have come to wonder what the fights that are popping up all over hell and gone about seemingly already solved conflicts are really about. Nothing translates as simply an argument to discover the truth anymore. But we bitch slap each other over the proper position of a yoga position that someone a thousand years ago settled. I doubt that is what the fight is really about. Is a fight ever about just a knuckle and a fist anymore?

Translate this for that and then into this so that will become this and soon enough nothing is about that what it started out to be.

Personally I liked viewing dolphins in their deep sea swimming alongside the bow where the best I could hope for was a picture of memory.

Lydia said...

I just so amazed that you see dolphins at your beaches! That's very cool. There are no dolphins on the Oregon coast, at least not the middle-to-northern coastline. We have whales, though, and great big sea lions.
That discord is sad, but hey if Gandhi wasn't always himself there can hardly be hope for the rest of us!

Lydia said...

I initially was going to comment about your beautiful photos...
They're soothing and dreamy.

Linnea said...

Your lovely scenes from nature certainly help ease the daily anger, annoyance, and stress we may carry with us!