|
|
 27 Mar 2008 @ 05:18, by solomoreno. Neighborhood
Not really. I wasn’t born in what we Ohioans call “the county.” In fact, I lived only on the edge of it from the ages of seven to twenty-four. Yet, it is in my blood…and I forgot. More >
|
|
|
|
6 Nov 2007 @ 10:41, by swanny. Neighborhood
A Modern Parable
It was on around 1963. I was around 7 years old walking with a similar aged neighbour to the mall of the day. As we approached the drugstore,
I happened to look down and to the left on the ground lay a twenty dollar bill, sitting still in the windless day. With great excitement,
I exclaimed my find out loud, where upon the neighbour looked down, strode forward, picked the bill up and confidently put it in his pocket.
The story or lesson would have ended there perhaps but later in the day I, feeling somewhat cheated or confused sought to approach an authority
on the matter, so went to the neighbours house and explained the situation to the acquaintances parents. I was calmly shown the
door and told something to the effect of "Get a Life".
Alrighty then so what does such a lesson or what could such a lesson teach. "Every human for themselves" perhaps or "Possession 10/10ths of the Law"
or "We're all in this alone". Yes perhaps but I suppose I found such lessons somewhat counterintuitive and zero sum gameish and despite the
rude awakening still maintain perhaps a some what modified Golden Rule approach. I suppose I realized that my acquaintance was not particularly
fair quality company and perhaps refrained from acquaintancing simply because why hang around those who are unbent to sharing, as perhaps
I suppose I stubbornly still insisted that we have a duty somewhat to share despite the fact that our fellows are somewhat ingratious and undeserving.
To share in the bounties and lessons and yes misfortunes perhaps of this world as I share this with you now.
Now I realize I may be alone in this philosophy or in its actual practice as many espose such but fail to act and by sharing thus mark myself as a fool perhaps
but well I put it out there as it were to see what the court of the spirit will do with it. And I suppose it is the court of the spirit that has the final say.
Is there any mutual profit in this tale for the benefit of the perhaps the future? Perhaps and perhaps not. We take our chances I suppose with the winds of fortune.
A. G. Jonas
Canada
(c) 2007
Nov. 6, 2007 More >
|
|
|
|
 8 Jun 2004 @ 07:43, by scotty. Neighborhood
Marcel is one of the first people I met when we came to live in Guadeloupe !
A retired fisherman he taught me how to make snares to catch his fish in - he also taught me how to fish - we'd spend hours and hours sailing out just before the coral reefs tending to his snares - then later - off to the harbour to sell the days catch!
With Marcel I ended up eating so much Langouste that I don't think I'd ever want to see one ever again ! LOL!
He taught me how to do Creole cooking !
He taught me a whole lot of things - the history of Guadeloupe from when he was but a mere boy - the stories of storms and cyclones - stories about signs of nature (like when certain birds fly overhead that means there's going to be lots of fish !!)
He showed me how he trained his bulls - beautiful impressive beasts that they are - he has fifteen of them half of which he's trained to draw carts !
A happy colourful character - he usually wears a different hat every day of the week !
On sunday he gets all dressed up - even wears a tie - and off he goes to church - a few hours later one can see him walking along the road on his way home - big smile on his face ... his shoes dangling from his hand !! heh heh heh
He is one of the kindest warmest unassuming people that anyone would ever care to meet - generous to a fault - always smiling - always ready to lend a helping hand !!
If there were only one or two more Marcel's in the world - it would be a much richer happier place to be !
 
|
|
|
|
 7 Jun 2004 @ 13:54, by bombadil. Neighborhood
Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers
are proud to present More >
|
|
|
|
 2 Jun 2004 @ 05:51, by scotty. Neighborhood
..is one that stays humble and discreet !
G'morning all !
only just after 7am and it is HOT !
One of my next door neighbours Emma ( not the hen-killer!) is an absolute doll!
This morning her gardener started work at 6.15am - now Emma is very able bodied - as is her daughter and son in law - they don't need a gardener !
But Emma knows that this old guy doesn't have any money and she wants to help him out - so rather than make him a 'charity case' she pays him to cut the grass and sweep up the leaves, there are never too many leaves 'cos she sweeps them up herself a day or two before he is due to arrive !LOL!
I know too that she drives round to his house a couple of days a week and asks him to 'help her out' by accepting the 'excess' of food that she had filling up her fridge !
She's always looking for 'discreet' ways to lend a helping hand or just simply make someone feel good - whether it's collecting clothes to give to people or simply just giving her presence and listening to someone who's lonely she does it all with the same vitality and joy !
She's always smiling - she wanders about humming quietly to herself all day long - she's an ACE !
|
|
|
|
 20 Mar 2004 @ 03:41, by jazzolog. Neighborhood
Endless is my vow
under the azure sky
boundless spring.
---Soen Nakagawa
I wish we were not so single-minded about keeping
our lives moving, and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves and of threatening
ourselves with death.
---Pablo Neruda
Cease from practice based on intellectual understanding, pursuing words, and following after speech, and learn the backward step that turns your light inward to illuminate your self. Body and mind of themselves will drop away, and your original face will be manifest.
---Dogen
A couple of times during my life, circumstances have forced me to accept quite atypical work off the beaten path of success for my career plan. The first time was in the late '60s, following a devastating (for me) divorce, when I became a glorified attendant of some sort in a private psychiatric hospital outside New York. The second time was more recent, after we'd moved to Ohio and I took a bureaucratic job with the Social Security Administration. Both jobs involved receiving considerable hostility from the people I was supposed to serve. But I think of those times fondly because I learned so much. More >
|
|
|
|
 14 Feb 2004 @ 20:23, by nemue. Neighborhood
I am feeling whimsical today, thinking of the meaning of my life. Why I am here, wishing I could go home. Please indulge me as I share my feelings, as this is food for my soul. This is the substance that gives me the strength to face another day, another challenge.
Tomorrow someone I work with will be told she no longer has a job with the company that she has worked for over 27-years. I feel sorry for her and I feel angry with her because she should (could) have taken control of her life, listened and done something about addressing the issues that had been raised with her. Many people went ‘out on a limb’ for her – but she refused to change, refused to listen and now she will pay the price. Even though I am angry with her my heart feels for what she will go through tomorrow. She has no partner, no support net; she will be largely on her own. I know her; she will continue to drive people away. I also feel to some degree that I have failed which is what prompted me to write the following.
For Pip, More >
|
|
|
|
 16 Apr 2003 @ 21:11, by jewel. Neighborhood
Somerset Man wakes up in old home"A man has been escorted home by police after waking up in a house he had lived in years before." But wouldn't it be nice if we could go back to our old homes, and find the comfort, capture the essence of a place of safety? We are always trying to find safety in a world that isn't safe today, but was it ever safe yesterday? To find a benevolent Mother who makes us hot chocolate, and we have all the time in the world to dream of creating better tomorrows?....
(And, it's not at the expense of another's home being blown away?) More >
|
|
|
|
 19 Nov 2002 @ 10:11, by craiglang. Neighborhood
Sunday, during our monthly Dome Healing Meditation circle in Minneapolis, an interesting and rather irreverent image came through to many of us. The vision was of a troupe of medieval comedy players entering the village square. Their purpose was not to convey any message, nor was it to accomplish anything momentous. It's mission was levity. It's goal was to poke fun of the authority which viewed itself as being above the townspeople - to mock the rigid system which held the people in place.
There was a piper, a drummer, and several players. However, The key member of the troupe was the "fool". This character wore the typically abnoxious bright garb, cap, and slippers of a joker. His acts continued to poke fun of the mayor, who became more and more annoyed as his antics went on. All this was of course, to the delight of the towns-people, who had not had this much fun in months.
At one point, many of the soldiers who normally guarded the city walls, cast their swords aside and came down from their guard stations to join the fetivities. Even the stern expression on the statue of the town's patron and founder turned to a smile. (reminiscent of the movie "Chocolat")
By the end of the meditation circle, although we had all remained in deep trance, the laughter among us seemed to have, in itself, become a living entity. It did wonders to break the seriousness of what many of us had felt in previous days - the sense of impending darkness and danger. For a moment the heaviness was gone, replaced by lighthearted fun.
One person in the circle wondered if this was the trickster (Coyote). But that explanation seemed to have too much meaning. This moment was one which was free of content, but completely and delightfully full of laughter. At this moment, we could ignore that which would otherwise be considered important. We could poke fun of the the politics, the message and the rules of authority.
And this was the "non-message" of the jester: Sometimes we can cast the seriousness aside, ignore our concerns and simply spoof the system. Just for a moment, we can be the fool.
Namaste,
-Craig More >
|
|
|
|
 3 Nov 2002 @ 18:54, by craiglang. Neighborhood
Yesterday, as I was working outside my house, I got to meet and chat with our new neighbors. This family, who moved into our neighborhood only a few months ago, are immigrants from Southeast Asia. These folks are some of the nicest people you will ever meet - a delight to know.
Since I have not yet learned much of their language, my communication with the older family members has been somewhat sparse. But yesterday as I was working, the kids came over to talk with me and play in our yard. They are a delightful lot - aged 2 to 10 - and talkative as the dickens. They alternated between english with me, and their family's language to eachother. But their laughs and smiles were universal.
I thought to myself how adaptable these folks must be. I can only guess what their life experiences must have been, a collective life path which eventually brought them to the house next door.
The family living on the other side of us has several kids of their own. Since our driveway and sidewalk have quite a bit of space, we often let the kids from both families rollerblade and play games there. The kids from these two families - from such different backgrounds - get along as if their families had been together for generations. Their world cares little for the differences that adults notice. All they cared about was laughing and playing.
I realized that the biggest light of all, and the greatest hope for the future, are children like these. As kids from such diverse backgrounds grow up, they bring the threads of human history together. As they play together they are unknowingly weaving a tapestry of understanding and peace.
I believe that this is how humanity will heal the wounds of war. With their big eyes, big smiles and wonderful imaginations, to me these kids represent the future of Earth. They are the hope of humanity. More >
|
|
Page: 1 2 Older entries >> |
|
