It's been a mostly uneventful couple of days. I've had a couple great surfing sessions, I've worked with a couple of new bartenders. Some things I'd like to share:
1. Pepper - Our newest bartender, pictured here, started about a week ago, and worked on Monday and Tuesday nights this week. I find her adorable, and the customers seem to really like her. She has done a very good job in spite of her somewhat serious aversion to mathematics. Anyway, it's a lot of fun working with her; I'm glad to have her here.
2. Costa Rica Calvin - Some friends that went back to the states a few weeks ago frequently would try to find some famous person that a Costa Rican resembled, and then refer to that person as the FAMOUS NAME INSERTED HERE of Costa Rica, or the Costa Rica FAMOUS NAME INSERTED HERE. For example, Costa Rica Elvis (who's real name is Rafa) cruises around town sporting awesome lambchops, long pants, a button down thrown over his shoulder, and no shoes. This picture is of Costa Rica Calvin. He reminds me of the guy (the original Calvin) in Norman who goes from bar to bar selling newspapers in an Oklahoma football helmet. Costa Rica Calvin goes from bar to bar selling his own likeness that he has carved into coconut husks for a thousand colones. He doesn't say anything, just laughs and smiles, showing his skill in giving a lifeless coconut his charm and spirit, hoping someone will part with one "rojo" for his morning's work.
3. Environmental Responsibility - I closed at about 10:30 last night, and after locking up, I was taking a "Zen Moment", as I later referred to it, lying on my back on the bar collecting myself and enjoying the sound of the waves and the light ocean breeze before my 45 step commute back home, when a couple of friends stopped by after a walk on the beach. We spoke a bit of environmental responsibility, and I would like to share some of my thoughts which stemmed from our conversation. It seems as though environmentalism is frequently about trying to make the world into (or keep it as) a place that we enjoy, a place that we like, as Martin pointed out last night. I believe the world doesn't really care what happens here. The universe doesn't really care either. The animals don't really care if their environment is torn down... they just make fight or flight decisions for the most part. The only creature that really cares about the state of the world/global warming/shrinking ozone/etc... is our race. I kinda imagine the world looking at all of our debate and controversy and just laughing at us for being so silly, for taking ourselves so seriously, and for thinking that we really have the control in the end. And in the end, isn't that what everyone is trying to do? Really, we're all caught up in trying to make the world what we want it to be. Some want it to bring them riches, some want it to bring them fame, others want it to bring them glaciers or beautiful species of arachnids. I think I side more with the world in giving up trying to control everything around us. In the end, it's hard enough to control ourselves. And it's a whole lot easier to just enjoy what we have instead of worrying all the time about what we don't or what we may lose.
3. I'm not Steve (and neither is he?) - So, many of you know that Anthony de Mello is a very influential person in my life. His meditations and lectures have helped me become conscious of and organize my own spiritual truths. I have recently been reading his lecture called "Awareness" (thanks for sending it Mom!). But first... When I was a kid, perhaps 12 years old, I was plagued by the question "Who am I?" I would think how odd it is that I was born, just like everyone else, and I ended up in me. How in the hell did that happen, and why? I only have consciousness inside myself. I still get chills when I consider it now. Somehow, I am not Steve, who is sitting next to me at the bar. I have no consciousness inside of him. How is it that "I" ended up in "me?" You see, I knew about the distinction when I was a kid, and then kinda forgot it. I knew that I had a body, made up of cells, but what in the hell made me different from someone else. Why did I only exist with me, and what was it that existed inside of me that made me ONLY me, ONLY able to see from my eyes, and NOT able to see through Steve's eyes (sorry Steve). Flash forward 20 years... I'm reading de Mello, and he is proposing a difference between the "me" and the "I" that is aware of the "me." I get chills. Only it's so much more than I knew when I was 12. Not only is the "me" my body, but also my thoughts and my emotions. And "I" am something different than all of those. We all have emotions, bodies, and thoughts, but something STILL makes me ME. So, that's neat, but so what? Here's what I love about his concept so far... When we get upset, or angry, or depressed, if we are able to recognize the difference between "me" and "I", it doesn't have to bother us at all. In fact, if "me" gets angry, it's no different at all from Steve getting angry. I am that disassociated from it if I truly recognize the difference between "me" and "I". When I was 12, I recognized how we are all the same, just under slightly different circumstances. Really, all of our "me's" are the same. All created by our experiences, our births, our experiences. I am not me. I am not Steve. I just am. When me feels negative, I don't have to identify with that any more than I identify with Steve when he gets angry. I think it's pretty cool. We can literally choose who we are, or actually, who we are not. Sure, there is something very close to me that hurts from time to time, but it's not I. Neat. Oh, here's a picture of Steve and his girlfriend Danielle. They're really nice. They've become close friends, and are leaving again tomorrow. Bye Steve. Bye Danielle.
4. Lulin. A comet is passing by. Costa Rica is a great place to see it. It took me forever to find it. It's really small. I figure there's enough beauty on this planet for me to enjoy. But it's still neat to think about.
Anybody notice I made two #3s? Right.
I picked up de Mello's book of meditations, thank you for the recomendation. I'm savoring a little piece of it every day.
ReplyDeleteIf we had more time, I'd argue your point #2 about environmentalism and the nature of nature. While it certainly can be specific to a person, species, or school of thought, and people/movements often use "it" for personal advantage, there is a certain logic and necessity to the way ecosystems and other natural systems and orders evolve, fluctuate, and achieve relative stasis over time. That'd take a bit of time and is certainly better suited for in-person conversatin'.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hanging with us last week, and Danielle really enjoyed her time down there, notwithstanding not being able to kidnap Jake! We made it back safely, and my board did, too! Stay in touch.--Steve
In regards to "Enviromental Responsibility" I highly recommend checking out
ReplyDeletewww.youtube.com/watch?v=eScDfYzMEEw
This man has been a very influential person in my life. I think you may find his views similiar to your own and have a good laugh while your atit! Enjoy!
;-)
I recently recalled to Rachel similar thoughts as a younger lad (#3), about being in awe of realizing the "me" inside my body self, and wondering how it was that "I" ended up inside me. And what I think I've come to realize is that it is the doing--my day-to-day and individual actions and behaviors, my volition if you will--that constitutes the "me" that lives inside my body. (The body being my vehicle for action.) So it seems to me that more than disassociation may be necessary to achieve the goals or outcomes you seek... in fact an active effort to change behavior (i.e. not letting something bother you to anger) is often the last and hardest step to take.
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