Month: March 2012

Quote of the Day – March 4 2012

“A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.”
– John Steinbeck

I try to be flexible when I travel. In the days when I travelled by myself or with friends as new to it as I was, it became apparent quickly that on the road things take as long as they take and usually longer (or wildly shorter) than expectations may allow. Now travelling with my family, everyone’s wishes and expectations have to come into play and allowances have to be made for everyone’s wants and needs. Also the priority switches from travel to experiences.
Twenty-Five years ago we had just reached Nevada when the two stoned teenagers who had given us a ride burned out their clutch. OK I thought, we may soon have to provide another ride, would we need to find a service station to help out our benefactors. Then I noticed that they were busy, expertly and quickly wiping their fingerprints off the steering wheel and dashboard! “Kevin” I said to my buddy who I had been travelling with, “I believe it may be time to head out”. Kevin was a little bit surprised at my lack of helpfulness but when I explained what I saw, he agreed, it was a wise decision. We proceeded to walk to the next exit and were almost there when the flashing lights came on to light our way.
We turned and greeted the officer. He proceeded to question us about the car and the drivers. It turned out that I had been correct in my assumption that it was a stolen vehicle. Kevin gave the officer a description of the kids who had given us a ride. He changed their hair colour, age and height of our drivers after all, we felt some road loyalty to them. The officer took down our information as well and suggested he not find us sticking around the area. We agreed that would be wise and parted ways.
In this trip, despite being on a new continent for the first time and having our son along nothing seems quite that urgent or adrenaline rule. We go to museums, people-watch, walk all around (Piccadilly Circus is amazing at night, somewhat reminiscent of Times Square with bright lights, large flashing video screens and many many people to watch and enjoy) and basically try to take turns sharing things we hope to do with each other. I look forward to Stonehenge in two weeks as much as Aaron did to last night’s David Hockney’s exhibit at the Royal Academy
How about inner travel? Has that changed as well.?
To be continued…
Blessings, G

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Purple Eye Mandala

Quote of the Day – March 3 2012

Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” – Jack Kerouac

The road is life. The difference I think is that Kerouac was one of the first to show it. Definitely in his generation and mine, one removed his talk about the road fueled dreams. If I had not read On the Road as a teenager would I have hitchhiker across the United States? That trip when I was twenty-four has informed everything that has happened since. Self-confidence had long been a challenge to me but after making it to New Jersey from California I felt that I could survive almost anything that life could throw at me. For The road I travelled was never just a external road but an internal one as well.
Every trip on the road has its cost. I used to believe that the cost for knowledge, experience and wisdom was innocence. I now believe differently. Some of the most wise and most experienced people I know are also the most innocent. I had made a common mistake. I had mistaken naivetee for innocence. True innocence is an inner sense,a trust and appreciation that comes from greeting each day as as something new without judgement informed by experience. Naivetee to me is the expectation that the world will conform to the rules you know. Every time I believed that I became rudely awakened.
To be continued…
Blessings, G

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Quote of the Day – March 2 2012

“If someone told me that I could live my life again free of depression provided I was willing to give up the gifts depression has given me–the depth of awareness, the expanded consciousness, the increased sensitivity, the awareness of limitation, the tenderness of love, the meaning of friendship, the apreciation of life, the joy of a passionate heart–I would say, ‘This is a Faustian bargain! Give me my depressions. Let the darkness descend. But do not take away the gifts that depression, with the help of some unseen hand, has dredged up from the deep ocean of my soul and strewn along the shores of my life. I can endure darkness if I must; but I cannot lie without these gifts. I cannot live without my soul.’ (p. 188)”
― David Elkins, Beyond Religion: A Personal Program for Building a Spiritual Life Outside the Walls of Traditional Religion

What parts of my life have contributed to make me who I am? Has my pain equipped me to not only appreciate joy more but to emphasize with the pain of others? Has working through my pain shown me strength and grace? Elkins makes a strong case for depression and indeed every other emotion.
If I could lead my life free of these negative emotions I may be happier or more content but I would not be me.
Blessings and very sleepy greetings from UK,
G

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Quote of the Day – March 1 2012

From wonder into wonder existence opens.
Lao Tzu

Wow, Getting ready to travel and heavy conversations about the nature of existence and enlightenment. My head is spinning
That’s right tomorrow along with family, I am heading to London and Ireland for twenty days. I hope to keep up this blog with quotes and writing during that time tho and will try to average an entry a day at least. For awhile, there may be more photos then art tho I’ve saved a few up. I hope to explore some ideas this trip, making it like most good explorations, an internal as well as an external excursion. Blessings, G

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Tea-Stained Harlequinade by G A Rosenberg