In silence the breath

Rising and falling

The beat of the heart

And a word

 

‘Peace’

 

Resounding solidly

Throughout the room

Though not heard

By the ears

 

The self is lost

The world is whole

The lines are blurred

There is peace

 

A moving van passes the window

And the wayfarer plunges back

Into the divided world

The peace is shattered

 

 

peace, wayf

 

 

“Serenity is the final word of all teachings.”

-Hung Chih

 

“The cloud is free only to go with the wind. The rain is free only in falling.”

-Wendell Barry

 

“If there is to be any peace it will come through being, not having.”

-Henry Miller

 

“Quiet minds cannot be perplexed or frightened, but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm.”

-Robert Louis Stevenson

 

“To know what you know and to know what you don’t know, that is real wisdom.”

-Confucius

 

“If you understand, things are just as they are; if you do not understand, things are just as they are.”

-Zen Proverb

 

“A happy life consists of tranquility of mind”

-Cicero

 

“A contented mind is a hidden treasure, and trouble findeth it not.”

-Akhenaton

 

“You have everything you need for complete peace and total happiness right now.”

-Wayne Dyer

 

“Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty.”

-Socrates

 

“Name or self: which is closer?

Self or wealth: which is more valuable?

Gain or loss: which is worse?

 

Excessive desires incur great expense

Hoarding leads to loss

 

One who is content suffers no disappointment

Knowing when to stop he avoids trouble

And thus, he lives long”

-Tao Te Ching--Chapter 44

 

“Therefore I say to you, ‘Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall wear; nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than meat and the body more than raiment?

 

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet the heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they?

 

Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit to his stature?

 

And why take you thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

 

Yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

 

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, o, ye of little faith?”

-Jesus

 

(Boom, booh de doo, boom—boom-- boom, doo doomp.)*see footnote

 

The recent hubbub over Anna Nicole Smith’s life and death has set me thinking about certain aspects of our culture here in the Western world.

 

I never really cared for Anna Nicole, to be completely honest with you. I never put much thought into why I didn’t until she died. I now realize that I did not dislike her as a person, per say, (how could I? I never knew her personally), but I disliked the caricature that she made of herself.  The bottom line is that Anna Nicole loved money, and she did what it took to make lots and lots of it. Now, in her death, her family members and acquaintances are displaying those same tendencies. 

 

But, this post isn’t really about Anna Nicole Smith, rest her soul.

 

We take pride in being an ‘affluent’ society. The dollar sign is slowly replacing the eagle as our national symbol. We love and admire the wealthy and live vicariously through them as they prance across our television screens, magazines, and newspapers wearing ludicrously expensive clothing and plastic smiles. No wonder a large portion of the rest of the world views western civilization as superficial and, often, superfluous: We are superficial and superfluous.

 

Call me crazy, but I have found very little to be admired while watching the ‘privileged’ people’s public antics. Most of the people who garner such admiration and respect display traits and characteristics which are, at their very core, neither admirable, nor respectable. Yet, the ‘public’ adores them and places them on pedestals for no other reason, really, than their wealth. I can think of no other purpose for Donald Trump to be so admired, for example.

 

Money serves a useful purpose. It can be used to provide shelter, food, and clothing without the insecurities of living life as a ‘hunter/gatherer’. For this reason, capitalism is a very good thing—in moderation. Excessive amounts of money will almost invariably lead to excessive behavior, however. It is as plain as the nose on one’s face that the biggest majority of the people who are so admired and looked up to for ‘living the American dream’ are actually on a downward spiral toward self-destruction.

 

Perhaps there is something to that—perhaps, if we examine the situation more closely we will realize that this mythological and ambiguous ‘American dream’ isn’t really all it’s cracked up to be. And maybe—just maybe—we keep idolizing these fallible human beings in hopes that one day we will find that one, unique person who isn’t corrupted in the least by extravagance and wealth: The Capitalist Messiah—the one person who will show us that it is indeed possible; you can have your cake and eat it too. Ultimately, that’s the affirmation that we are seeking.

 

We want to know, beyond what common sense tells us, that excessive wealth is the path to true happiness. We don’t want to believe that the ‘American dream’ is a fallacious and dangerous dead-end street--or a ‘four-star day-dream’.

 

 

 

 

(*the ‘Boom, booh de doo’ stuff at the beginning of this post was symbolic of the bass line for the song ‘Money’ by Pink Floyd from which the title of the post is also taken. I refuse to venture into the depths of ‘Song2Play’ with all its pop-ups and scary, creepy crawlies that may infest my precious new computer.

 

Couldn’t have that—these things cost money.)

 

peace, wayf

 

In the solitude of the forest

Among the barren trees and white snow

A red bird floats ethereally

From branch to branch

 

My thoughts

Racing heavenward

Come back to the solid

Infinite ground

 

peace, wayf

This weekend, Mrs. w and I will be enjoying four days of each others’ company. Some of this long weekend will be spent here at the Hovel, but we do have plans on renting a cabin near our favorite park (Hocking Hills, see link in my ‘Sites I Like’ list). In addition to the well needed peace of mind, I am in hopes of getting some good photos of the snow in the hills.

I hope that this respite will provide me time to think on a certain project that I have wanted to start for quite some time. I am sure that the hills will provide ample opportunity for me to seek inspiration in receptive silence, as I am surrounded by the wonders of the real world (the Appalachian foothills in Southeastern Ohio are a little slice of Heaven, if you’ve never visited them, I strongly suggest it if you ever get the chance.)

I have been contemplating a series of blog posts that I would love to write, but have not been able to find the proper way to express what it is I wish to say. The noise and activity of day to day life is surely interfering with my ability to think clearly. At any rate, I just wanted to put up a note in the window and alert those of you who are still reading of my whereabouts this weekend. Here’s hoping I come back with some magnificent photos and a refreshed mind.

Heaven knows I will certainly be enjoying Mrs. w’s company!

peace, wayf