Neighborhood
Mar. 7th, 2003 12:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jakebe
Hey there, all...
Man, it is an absolutely amazing day today. The temperature is right around 70 degrees, there's not a *single* cloud in the sky, and everywhere there's this sense of just being awake and alive. That sounded really cheesy, didn't it? :)
The Bookshop gig is rolling right along; cleaning up our on-line inventory a bit, posting an eBay auction (an old sci-fi novel called "The HAB Theory"; looks really interesting, if it weren't so expensive I'd buy it myself), sending off a few books that should have been gone a *long* time ago, and putting a few more gaming books back on the shelves. Sometime soon, a friend is supposed to meet me for lunch but he hasn't shown up yet. He'd *better*; I passed up Chinese food for him. :P
Overall, I'm feeling really good. Eliahn still makes me feel consistently ignorant whenever I talk to him, but that's a good thing; it gives me drive to actually learn a lot of things. :) I've been trying to write without too much success, but if I keep plugging at it then I'm pretty optimistic I'll find my rhythm eventually.
I bought the 2nd ed. AD&D core rulebooks for an on-line game it looks like I'll be running; I haven't decided, though, whether I'll be using 2nd or 3rd ed. rules. Honestly, I really like the d20 system; it's streamlined and non-intrusive and that's essential for an on-line game. I'd really hate to have to spend all this time tracking down all kinds of modifiers for someone's save. :P I also got "The Man on the Tower" by Charles Rafferty and "Dancing With Your Books: The Zen Way of Studying". I'm thinking that if I can finagle someone into it, or when I get my liscence(!), I'll have to go down to the Buddhist meditation group that meets every Thursday down at the University church...just to see what it's like.
Speaking of liscences, we took my car(!!) out for a little spin last night. The battery's completely dead for it, there's a busted headlight and the driver's seat is a retard, but other than that it runs beautifully. Inspired by the feel of the steering wheel, Silver was nice enough to take me to a parking lot for an impromptu driver's lesson. I learned how to brake without killing the car (clutch!), how to reverse and turn and such, and most impressively, how to start Silver's truck. I'm pretty excited about it; there's something very invigorating about discovering something completely new. :) I should pursue that more often.
I'm gushing like a complete goober. :D
I picked up The Complete Idiot's Guide to Zen Living, and yeah, yeah, I know, but you can find wisdom in the damnedest places. :) Case in Point: "Zen isn't really Zen if you practice it specifically to achieve some benefit." Very interesting statement...and well, it's true but untrue at the same time.
The entire reason you do something is to gain some kind of benefit from it. Whether it's something basic like showering so you don't stink, to taking college courses so you can land the job that you've always wanted, there's always a *goal* for our actions. The point of Zen, however, is not to achieve enlightenment; the point is to journey towards the destination. It's the process that's ultimately your aim, and since a process itself doesn't have an end there's no goal to journey towards.
The benefits of Zen are what attracted me to the process in the first place; the idea of being unflappable, totally secure in my place in the world, my flaws and limitations, my strengths, and those other inexplicable qualities that make up the individual, of being ultimately accepting of everything exactly the way it is, no matter what, is...delightful to me. The contradiction of bettering your world by accepting it as it is strikes a chord with me.
I feel like I've been approaching the idea of spirituality in the wrong manner. I'm pretty sure it's a common mistake to make, but Zen isn't something you try to become, because you already are. The trick is discovering it underneath all of the non-Zen habits and attitudes you've been accumulating all these years. It's the process of stripping away, not striving...
I should really get back to work now. <:)
Man, it is an absolutely amazing day today. The temperature is right around 70 degrees, there's not a *single* cloud in the sky, and everywhere there's this sense of just being awake and alive. That sounded really cheesy, didn't it? :)
The Bookshop gig is rolling right along; cleaning up our on-line inventory a bit, posting an eBay auction (an old sci-fi novel called "The HAB Theory"; looks really interesting, if it weren't so expensive I'd buy it myself), sending off a few books that should have been gone a *long* time ago, and putting a few more gaming books back on the shelves. Sometime soon, a friend is supposed to meet me for lunch but he hasn't shown up yet. He'd *better*; I passed up Chinese food for him. :P
Overall, I'm feeling really good. Eliahn still makes me feel consistently ignorant whenever I talk to him, but that's a good thing; it gives me drive to actually learn a lot of things. :) I've been trying to write without too much success, but if I keep plugging at it then I'm pretty optimistic I'll find my rhythm eventually.
I bought the 2nd ed. AD&D core rulebooks for an on-line game it looks like I'll be running; I haven't decided, though, whether I'll be using 2nd or 3rd ed. rules. Honestly, I really like the d20 system; it's streamlined and non-intrusive and that's essential for an on-line game. I'd really hate to have to spend all this time tracking down all kinds of modifiers for someone's save. :P I also got "The Man on the Tower" by Charles Rafferty and "Dancing With Your Books: The Zen Way of Studying". I'm thinking that if I can finagle someone into it, or when I get my liscence(!), I'll have to go down to the Buddhist meditation group that meets every Thursday down at the University church...just to see what it's like.
Speaking of liscences, we took my car(!!) out for a little spin last night. The battery's completely dead for it, there's a busted headlight and the driver's seat is a retard, but other than that it runs beautifully. Inspired by the feel of the steering wheel, Silver was nice enough to take me to a parking lot for an impromptu driver's lesson. I learned how to brake without killing the car (clutch!), how to reverse and turn and such, and most impressively, how to start Silver's truck. I'm pretty excited about it; there's something very invigorating about discovering something completely new. :) I should pursue that more often.
I'm gushing like a complete goober. :D
I picked up The Complete Idiot's Guide to Zen Living, and yeah, yeah, I know, but you can find wisdom in the damnedest places. :) Case in Point: "Zen isn't really Zen if you practice it specifically to achieve some benefit." Very interesting statement...and well, it's true but untrue at the same time.
The entire reason you do something is to gain some kind of benefit from it. Whether it's something basic like showering so you don't stink, to taking college courses so you can land the job that you've always wanted, there's always a *goal* for our actions. The point of Zen, however, is not to achieve enlightenment; the point is to journey towards the destination. It's the process that's ultimately your aim, and since a process itself doesn't have an end there's no goal to journey towards.
The benefits of Zen are what attracted me to the process in the first place; the idea of being unflappable, totally secure in my place in the world, my flaws and limitations, my strengths, and those other inexplicable qualities that make up the individual, of being ultimately accepting of everything exactly the way it is, no matter what, is...delightful to me. The contradiction of bettering your world by accepting it as it is strikes a chord with me.
I feel like I've been approaching the idea of spirituality in the wrong manner. I'm pretty sure it's a common mistake to make, but Zen isn't something you try to become, because you already are. The trick is discovering it underneath all of the non-Zen habits and attitudes you've been accumulating all these years. It's the process of stripping away, not striving...
I should really get back to work now. <:)
