Beauty

When I am working on a problem, I never think about beauty.
I think only how to solve the problem.  But when I have
finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.

--R. Buckminster Fuller

Meditating with Pink Floyd

Every once in a while I like to lay on the couch, close my eyes, crank up the stereo, and just listen to really good music. Last night was one of those nights. As I lay there listening I had an idea, what if I meditated while doing this?

I decided to try it and sat up into my meditation position on the couch – legs crossed, eyes closed, tall back, hands on my knees, relaxed. Focus on the breathing – and now feel my body.

The next step was to choose some music. I started with some Pink Floyd and from there I tried others - Barrage, Ray Charles, Chris Rea, Seal, Mark Knopfler. The volume was cranked up, well above a conversation level, but not ear-splitting. Enough to feel the music. For me the best music was mostly instrumental and with good, solid bass. My favorites were Sorrow and On the Turning Away by Pink Floyd.

What was really awesome was all the sensations in my body. I could feel the vibration of the low notes coming through the bottom of the couch. I could feel the mid-range and bass notes pulsing from the front speakers into my chest, arms, and face. I could feel the energy in my body following the rhythm of the music, rising, falling, anticipating, cresting almost like an internal dance. And wave after wave after wave of whole body shivers and goosebumps! Top to bottom, left to right, swirls, colors. Through all of this I could easily maintain a focus on my breathe. I’m certain that if I had wanted to choose any meditation style, I could have done that as well I felt so absorbed and aware.

In total I sat for about 90 minutes meditating, breathing, feeling – and one of the most peaceful, dare I say fun, and satisfying meditation experiences I’ve ever had.

First Love

Something different - a poem I wrote ...

happiness abounds

   joy is abundant

but heavy eyes

from sleepless night

preceeded by long evenings

   charmed by sweetness

     spellbound by calm

       captured by the windows to the soul temper the sentiments

   but the heart

remains resolved to the fire

   ...somehow

deep serenity sets in

   balanced by peace

     charged by electricity

The West Wing as Inpsiration

The West Wing was a prime time drama that aired from 1999-2006. It was the ongoing story of a Democratic President over two terms. I don't watch much television, but it's one of my favorite shows ever. I've watched the entire 7 seasons at least twice.

Whether or not the show captured what politics is really like or not, or whether that's what the actual West Wing of the White House is like has been debated in various articles. Regardless it's fascinating to watch.

A highlight of watching The West Wing for me was the pure purpose and dedication of the characters. I doubt most public servants are this dedicated to their job, and in general most people aren't this dedicated to their job. Still it's moving to me.

I believe it was the first season, the first year of a new Presidential term, there is a scene with Leo McGarry, the White House Chief of Staff, and his wife. His wife is divorcing him because he spends so much time working. I don't remember the exact dialogue, but what McGarry eventually says is "Yes, this is more important than my marriage." Referring to his position as Chief of Staff.

As a male, I can start to identify with this type of thinking and perhaps even have some agreement with what McGarry is saying. What's strikes me more than that is the dedication to his work, to the people he works with, to the country.

There is a part of me that truly admires that dedication, that stripped to the core, work at all hours, health-be-damned, full-on dedication and belief in what you're doing. It's in the real world as well, I see it there also and admire that just as much. In some ways I wish that was my way, that something motivated me that much. I also know the need for balance in one's life and the importance of taking care of yourself so you can be of service to others.

If I were as passionate about something as the characters are in The West Wing, I wonder what kind of choices I'd make about my life - could I keep a balance, could I keep a relationship, could I keep my health - or would I dive in with every ounce of strength and energy I have. I honestly don't know.

The West Wing as education

The West Wing was a prime time drama that aired from 1999-2006. It was the ongoing story of a Democratic President over two terms. I don't watch much television, but it's one of my favorite shows ever. I've watched the entire 7 seasons at least twice.

Whether or not the show captured what politics is really like or not, or whether that's what the actual West Wing of the White House is like has been debated in various articles. Regardless it's fascinating to watch.

One of the main reasons I enjoyed it so much was the educational aspect and the level of intelligent writing that came with that. Almost every episode, or series of episodes, touched on some real issue happening in the US or the world. Everything from flag-burning to terrorism to presidentical elections.

What I found fascinating was the presentation of the ideas. Often it seemed like the dialogue was centered around trying to give many points of view, not necessarily just a point of view from the mainline Democratic Party. There were arguments and counter-arguments and then counters to those even. Stats, numbers, stories were all brought to bear in these discussions. I don't know if the stats actually used on the show were real, but many seemed like they could have been.

In the end, many issues were never fully resolved and if they were it was almost anti-climatic in a way, the debates was the real story. That what was so beautiful to me was the story was about the issue, not the resolution.

If you ever get a chance to watch The West Wing, I'd highly recommend it. While watching from the first episode to the last is thrilling and shows the evolving nature of the characters and issue, each episode is almost a story unto itself and worthwhile watching.

The Gift

To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.
- Steve Prefontaine

Xenocide by Orson Scott Card

Xenocide is the third novel in the Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card. The first two books are Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead. I just finished reading these three books again, I think for the third time. I'm reminded each time why these are some of my favorite books, especially Xenocide.

First is the cast of characters, and there are many of them. There are at least a dozen characters that get developed with a full personality within Xenocide. Each character is so unique, with brilliance and quirks. What's even better is how Card preserves and enhances each one with all the interactions in the book. It's also a great look at family, community, and relationship dynamics and their intricacies.

I also love the plot and storylines of which there are many. The book goes back and forth between storylines and yet each one is completely related to the others. It makes it a book that's hard to put down.

Mostly though I think it's the philosophical discussions that arise from the book. Dialogue that is directly presented by Card, inner dialogue that various characters have in their mind, and the conversations that we can start with ourselves (or others) on what's happening in the book. So many topics are covered from what makes a species sentient to alternative universes to faster than light travel to what it means to be human. It even includes some religious doctrine and ideas about what God(s) are or aren't plus dilemnas of what's right and what's wrong.

If you're looking for some great reading material for the winter, this would be at the top of my list for recommendations. You don't have to read the first two, but they do provide good context for the third and are a much quicker read.

Enjoy.

Weird

A friend of mine told me the other day that the word 'weird' referred to the mystical, magical, or supernatural. I was intrigued because usually when I think of weird it has to do with strange or odd or unusual, in perhaps an exaggerated way, but I'd never put magical or mystical with it. Following up on that I went to the dictionary, well the dictionary on the web now. Sure enough there are many definitions of weird, and most have little to do with odd or strange.

Dictionary.com lists 4 definitions for weird as an adjective:
1. involving or suggesting the supernatural; unearthly or uncanny: a weird sound; weird lights.
2. fantastic; bizarre: a weird getup.
3. Archaic . concerned with or controlling fate or destiny.
4. fate: destiny, one of the Fates

The origin is even more unusual. In Old English (before 900), the word meant worth. In Middle English it referred to the weirde sisters or The Fates from Macbeth. Late Middle English usage meant 'having the power to control destiny.'

Wow! I'm always amazed to discover what words really mean and how language and culture constantly change that.This just another cool example. What a great word for the day.

More Introductions

The profile section of Blogspot here doesn’t offer much space for an introduction, 1200 characters plus some favorites and interests. Because of that I wanted to share more about this endeavor. I posted a few others times on fierce, and why -  and this will give a little more background on me.

I’ve had 3 ½ careers from technical to operations to inspirational/athletics. The half, well I had the training, but never engaged it as a career.

I’ve lived in suburbs, rural areas, small towns, and mountain areas.

I’ve been an athlete since I was a kid and done quite a few sports.

I like cars, dogs, dark chocolate, and good food.

I’ve been married and divorced.

I’ve known true love – and left not knowing what it was – too young to really know. And I agree, it’s better to have loved and lost than never loved.

I’ve been on 5 continents and to 49 states. I’ve been across the country 4 times, twice on a bike.

I’ve put in thousands or hours of work for non-profits and donated tens of thousands of dollars.

A few favorite authors include Robert Fulghum, Edward Abbey, David Deida, Charlotte Kasl, Ken Wilbur, Orson Scott Card, Clive Cussler, and David Whyte.

A few favorite movies are Out of Africa, The Shawshank Redemption, and Meet Joe Black.

A few favorite musicians are Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Sarah Townes, Sarah McLachlan, Lyle Lovett, and Seal.

Deep-dish Chicago pizza rocks and so does fresh caught Pacific Salmon.

I listen to NPR and enjoy Prairie Home Companion, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, and CarTalk, but hardly ever read the news.

I believe in a higher power/higher intelligence, what term you want to use. I believed we’re all connected.

I’m awed by the world we live in – the power of nature, the fact that a car actually works, by a fabulous sunset or sunrise, the beauty and depth of the human spirit.

I have a penchant for truth.

I am fairly perceptive, seeing patterns and patterns of patterns. Sort of like Neo see the patterns of the numbers in The Matrix.

I don’t own a cell phone.

I’ve led a truly blessed life! I have certainly made mistakes along the way, but have absolutely no regrets.

Fullness

Last night was a full moon, but its brief visit was obscured by the rare clouds here. It's with that full moon in mind that I write this post.

This morning I went to a new yoga class, at a studio I've never been to, with an instructor I haven't been to before. I'm in an exploration mode so this is happening quite frequently lately. So how do yoga and the full moon relate? Exactly!

During the first parts of the class, Kirsten, the instructor, brought the full moon to our attention. (I will try to bring her eloquence and simplicity here.) She was reminding us that the moon is always full - it's always fully there. Most of the time only part of it is bathed in light from the sun, but if we look we can distinguish the full globe.

It's the same with us as humans. We are fully here all the time. And parts of us can be hidden in shadows or light we haven't shined around corners in awhile. Kirsten was encouraging us to use the time with yoga today to remember our fullness and embrace all that we are. I liked the analogy and the reminder, it stuck with me all day.

Here's to you - and hoping you remember your fullness!

Teaching High School Students about Business

This is one of my ideas I really like, though it’s never made it towards the top of my priority list to try it out. I remember exactly when I thought of it. I was driving from Seattle to Sacramento going south on Interstate 5 passing through all the small towns in Oregon. At one point I saw an old outdoor movie theater, it still looked like it was usable and I thought that would be a great way to teach high school students about business!

Everyone who works is either working for themselves, or running a business, or working for someone else. How many of us ever actually understand what is involved with running and sustaining a business? How many people understand taxes, and compliance, and safety, and human resources, and hiring, and budgeting, and marketing. And how much all of these things cost and how quickly they add up. I’ve worked in two small businesses as Director of Operations (COO so to speak) so I have some idea, but it wasn’t until I worked at that level that I understood the details.

What if we could bring that level of knowledge into those entering the workforce to begin with. So they understand what the business owners are going through and can be sympathetic to them and so business owners trust and respect their works because there is some mutual understanding?

So the thought was to revive the outdoor movie theater as a business run entirely by high school students with involvement from business people in the community. The whole thing would be a class students would get credit for. The school year would involve classroom work of teaching about business combined with actual doing work on the business from creating a plan for the next year, to setting up a budget to hiring, and so on.

The students would be responsible for everything. They would choose the leaders (President, Vice-President, Accountant, etc), they could choose titles, they could choose pay, they would do the hiring (and the firing). For every position held by an upperclassmen, they would work closely with at least 1 underclassmen to train them to potentially move into that role as they progressed through school.

As part of this project, I also thought it would be a great way to get business people from the community involved with the students. Some could be advisers to help oversee the project, some could help with the teachers, some could be supervisors, some could be mentors for students. This would be a way of passing on knowledge about running a business from those doing it to the next generation. I think it could also help bridge the divide that sometimes seems to be there between different generations.

On the whole it seemed like a great way to provide give and take between the students (the next generation) and the community, and to bring some basic business knowledge to the new workforce.