Saturday, June 26, 2010

Bite by Byte

Hmmm. I just reread the past four or five entries in Under the Forest Canopy to revisit topics I've addressed over the past several months. I'm surprised--and self-conscious--to discover the length of these entries.

Why? I ask myself. In this era of email, texting, and instant messaging why do I devote hours to my blogging when many people are perfectly happy to pound out a quick entry or text message and then move on with their lives? Why write out full, complete sentences when others are content to employ abbreviations and shorthand?

Since I don't own a Blackberry, cell phone, or other electronic device I'm not privy to the communication style of the day. R u? :-) The previous letters and symbol constitute the extent of my knowledge and understanding of texting terminology. And, I have to admit, it took me months to translate :-) or the more commonly used :) (Did I guess correctly? Are these a sideways version of the old smiley face from my youth?)

I'm beginning to wonder: Is the current mainstream culture too far removed from that of my childhood? Am I growing too old and cynical? Have I joined the generation that clings to the habits and behaviors of the past instead of encouraging myself to expand and grow into the cultural norms of the future?

Perhaps this is who I am: a person who enjoys taking time to think things through, who reads often and extensively, and who plumbs the depths of my thoughts, feelings, and spiritual aspirations. Perhaps it's okay to write long dissertations on the importance of sparks, freedom and exploration, or the need for a deep, abiding connection to the Earth.

Perhaps my blog offers me the opportunity to think and feel things deeply when the world around me ratchets up its speed to an inhuman and inhumane pace. Perhaps no one actually reads this blogging journey. And perhaps it doesn't matter because--just perhaps--this writing is for an audience of one: me.

I had two good, long, in-depth conversations with friends today via phone. Consequently I know there are others in the world who are interested in delving into the depths of the soul. Unfortunately the pace of the world is accelerating so rapidly that it's hard to imagine that many people have space in their lives for anything other than a wild rush to work, appointments, family gatherings, exercise classes, and even, vacations.

Since moving here Under the Forest Canopy time has become my friend. Without a myriad of friends and activities to distract me I prioritize my life around making sure to allow plenty of time for sleep, good food, exercise, and meditation. My life has distilled itself down into a simple formula made popular by various spiritual gurus: Be Here Now (Ram Dass) and The Power of Now (Eckhart Tolle), for starters. I've lived enough years and lived through enough experiences to realize that what really matters is being happy right now in the present moment.

Of course, in some moments coming soon (I hope!) I'll be happy to indulge myself in eating some Stuffed Grape Leaves (Greek Dolmades) that Frances and I made earlier this afternoon. I'll happily live in the moment, bite by bite....

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Lean toward the Light

Speaking of sparks (see previous blog entry dated June 14, 2010) ... I just encountered another one while looking through a book that Frances checked out yesterday from the Bayfield library.

Roberta, the librarian, suggested Frances bring The Flavor Bible home because she thought Steph would enjoy it. She was right, of course. The subtitle reads: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg.

The first page of this book contains a wonderful quote by Albert Schweitzer, printed just below a picture of suspended kitchen utensils: tongs, a slotted spoon, a ladle, and another unknown item dangle above these words as if to say, Words may come first but it is the art of cooking good food that deeply satisfies the hunger of the soul. Said Schweitzer:
At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.
Too true! Often these creative sparks flash like lightening bugs all around me. If I'm not looking for them, or if I hesitate to instantly capture them for safekeeping, they inevitably float into the darkness and disappear. I've learned this lesson all too well as I've cast about for writing topics and then allowed life events or fear and uncertainty to paralyze my agile mind and its free flow of words or otherwise tame the burning glow of my writing.

A later quote in The Flavor Bible (p. viii) reads:
When we no longer have good cooking in the world, we will have no literature, nor high and sharp intelligence, nor friendly gatherings, nor social harmony.
                    --Marie-Antoine Careme, Chef (1784-1833)
As I've known for years, and as Chef Jehane Benoit (1904-1987) concurs, Good cooking is an art, as well as a form of intense pleasure.... (p. viii)

Back to Phyllis Theroux's book, The Journal Keeper, which I mentioned in my previous blog. I found Theroux's account of her life interesting, compelling, and deeply satisfying. This led to my later query as an on-again, off-again journal-keeper: If Theroux can publish a journal that inspires and motivates her readers, why can't I?

Actually, I am already publishing my virtual journal through a daily T'ai Chi Chih (TCC) blog, Rooted in Earth, Suspended from Sky. I originally intended for this blog to be like a circular New Year's Resolution: I'll write a daily blog if I perform a daily T'ai Chi Chih practice, and I'll commit myself to a regular TCC practice if I write about my practice every day. Amazingly, it works.

Both my T'ai Chi Chih practice and my writing energize and inspire me. Yet I soon discovered that these interlocking commitments accomplish something more: they provide me with a public obligation and commitment that I cannot ignore, I'm encouraged to read inspirational, thought-provoking writing in order to stimulate deeper thoughts and realizations about my practice, and--most days--I look forward to both my TCC practice and my writing!

Theroux's book has been enormously inspiring to me and part of that inspiration is due to the fact that she reveals a writing process and thought process that is similar to my own. In her final chapter she outlines her guidelines for how to keep a journal (pp. 274-75):
.... I am not a fan of those who urge you to dump whatever comes to mind upon the page. No, no, no. Your journal should be a wise friend who helps you create your own enlightenment. Choose what you think has some merit or lasting value, so that when you reread your journal in years to come it continues to nourish you.
     Some days I can think of nothing worth writing down. Fortunately, I am not alone. By my chair, I keep a small, revolving collection of essays, spiritual autobiographies, poetry, and other writers' journals to inspire me. When I'm out of fuel, they pull me out of the creek and into a broader, deeper river.... if you want your journal to have any lasting value, for yourself or others, I can only think of one rule to follow: Lean toward the light.
I'm leaning, Phyllis, I'm leaning....

Monday, June 14, 2010

I'm Just Walkin'...

Oh, life is an amazing journey! And I’m encouraged to discover that often all it takes is a good book, film, or personal story to spark my excitement and sense of adventure. There’s no doubt that one person’s travelogue can be the take-off point for another person’s leap of faith. And me? I’d happily slip into the shoes of either of those people.

I started a new book several days ago—The Journal Keeper, A Memoir, by Phyllis Theroux—and by page 21 I was at the computer with fingers to the keyboard. This book follows Theroux through six years of her life, 2000-2005. I knew that I’d be intrigued and interested in her story because it’s the story of a writer and details how she frames her life in the context of her thoughts, experiences, words, and inner wisdom.

After I read the following paragraph I closed Theroux's book and scurried into my office:
We are driven to deliver the truth inside us, no matter what we do to avoid or bury it. How to deliver it is the challenge. It is not just about using our reason although, like a diving board, we must use it to its limit, running to its very end. But then we must leap—like a spark—into the air. It is that spark that illuminates the understanding, makes the heat and the difference. (p. 20)
How could I resist Theroux’s argument and invitation to dive into my own writing, my own story, my own truth?

Today I read an article about Matt Green, a 30-year-old who is walking across the United States from Rockaway Beach, NY to Rockaway Beach, OR. Green quit his job as a civil engineer in NYC and set off across the United States in March with no agenda, no goal (other than to reach the west coast), and one overwhelming desire: to experience the landscape and people along his path with openness and appreciation.

Many curious onlookers have asked Green why? Is he raising money for a favorite cause? Does he hope to win a race or set a new record for the fastest crossing of the U.S. by foot? Either of those reasons they could understand. But Matt’s desires are simpler, less driven by the pursuit of tangible goals and more focused on an inner desire to experience life at its truest, most basic level.

Similar to William Least Heat Moon’s written record of his travels in his book, Blue Highways or John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley, Green is recording his life through the photographs he snaps during his daily adventures on the road. Interestingly, Green provides two reasons for this undertaking on his website, one short, the other long. His long explanation includes a quote from John Steinbeck’s book, Cannery Row, in which Steinbeck describes a character who loses a love and then sets off on a long walking journey across a number of states. When onlookers ask this lonely traveler why he’s walking he truthfully responds that he wanted to:
… see the country, smell the ground and look at grass and birds and trees, to savor the country, and there was no other way to do it save on foot. And people didn’t like him for telling the truth. They scowled, or shook and tapped their heads, they laughed as though they knew it was a lie and they appreciated a liar. And some, afraid for their daughters or their pigs, told him to move on, to get going, just not to stop near their place if he knew what was good for him.

And so he stopped trying to tell the truth. He said he was doing it on a bet—that he stood to win a hundred dollars. Everyone liked him then and believed him.
Green doesn’t require a reason for undertaking his cross-country walking tour, his motivation is a desire to experience life as it unfolds by watching the landscape as it flows around him at three miles per hour, footstep-by-footstep. Each evening Green stops at a farmhouse along his path and asks if he can pitch his tent in the homeowners’ yard. This request elevates his experience even more because, by relying on the goodness and generosity of others, Green creates community, builds understanding, and links the united states together in one long chain of communication and connection.

Though acquaintances have expressed their trepidation about Green putting himself at risk by traveling solo across our broad, diverse nation, he’s not willing to let their doubts and fears stop him. "Playing it safe isn't really that safe," Green concludes. "If you do that, you miss out on a lot of the great things life has to offer.” By quitting his job and leaving friends and relatives behind Green is learning how it feels to be truly free.

For a newspaper article and film clip detailing Green's travels, visit: www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=4137 Better yet, visit Matt's website to view his photographs and track his progress: http://www.imjustwalkin.com/