“Things are as they are. Looking out into it the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations.”
~ Alan Watts
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When I was that young GI I posted a picture of a couple of posts back, living in Thailand, among Buddhists and in a less technology dominated society, I had the pleasure of having several days off a week (this after we ceased the bombing of Cambodia and Laos, during the bombing of Cambodia and Laos it was 72 hour weeks, 6 12s and 1 day off). I had my small 2 room bungalow downtown with a real comfortable hammock on my front porch. And I had a library and a base store that carried some pretty good reading. I discovered Alan Watts (not like Columbus discovered America... which, according to Dick Gregory, is like me discovering your car in the parking lot with you in it...) and with 5 days a week to spend on my hammock with all my needs able to be satisfied within walking distance -- or a shout to the kids in the compound, who were always happy to fetch a cigarette or soda... or cha dum yen, Thai iced tea... for me -- I spent hours reading. A lot of Sci-Fi/speculative fiction (Heinlein, Ellison, Anthony, Delaney...) which blew my mind and opened my philosophical eyes wide open... and Alan Watts, whose common sense discussions of Buddhism and Zen really put it all in perspective, surrounded as I was by Buddhists.
And now, in another circle coming 'round, I'm dealing with Buddhists again. And... I must admit... my Boycott the Olympics post has brought triple or quadruple the visitors here. So I don't know if its dumb luck or relevant material, or someone with lots of friends emailing the link around... but "Howdy" to all you new readers.
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In my saying "Boycott the Olympics" I want to make clear that I don't have that direct line to the Dalai Lama fixed yet. Darn Qwest anyway... but the Dalai Lama has made clear he supports the Olympics and isn't calling for a boycott. Thats me... and, if you are really interested, check out Google:
Boycott Olympics Tibet
...it seems I'm not alone in this boycott thinking.
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I don't know if anyone has noticed but my photography is my portrayal of nature as the example of life in balance. Grampa Semu used to say that if you wanted to know god's laws look at life, because god's laws are the laws of nature and those laws are universal truths because whats more natural than nature? Sorry couldn't resist that one... watching TV makes my sarcasm and cynicism need expression at times and the abuse of the word "natural" is worthy of its own blog post.
So.. today... I'm going easy and mostly just posting some pics for your viewing pleasure. But I havta add, in keeping with whole initial intent of this blog... that Pablo and I used to talk philosophy for hours while we played backgammon, drank beer, puffed a bit and perused the far corners of thinking from our perches at the tables in our cabins with a backgammon board in font of us... and Paul was a thinker. Not just a builder and caretaker, but a man who listened and mulled and could reflect back to something said a week or two before and pick up the thread and carry it on into a new vein, a new discussion...
Enjoy your day...
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The photos are all from the last couple of months, here at the farm (w/ some focus on my flocks of geese), from my morning meanderings at Golden Garden Park, the waterfalls feeding the Willamette River up Hwy 58...
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