5/31/20
WALDEN. This month’s NonRequired Reading List is all about what Thoreau has to say to us in times such as these. We need to hear a choir of voices, but my post for today is to offer Mr. Henry David. Read the NonRequired Reading List for May here.
5/30/20
DOMINOES. Watch This.
5/29/20
MINNESOTA. Born and raised in the land of lakes, this hat-shaped state formed me and I dearly love it and its peoples. So I write this specifically to my Minnesota kin with a grieving heart.
The murder of George Floyd was monstrous. The public mourning in the streets and protesting of structural evil is necessary. I can feel it in my Minnesota blood that my fellow white Minnesotans will face the temptation to dismiss the police officers as just a few who acted out of line and that the protests are getting to be a bit too much. The temptation for white ‘Minnesota Nice’ is to whitewash the reality of structured brutality again. In her book, Mindful of Race, Ruth King shares a teaching image of stars and constellations. King says that when it comes to racial harm white people will question the individual intent of a specific person (aka the four officers involved) while People of Color see the impact on the individual and the collective within a system (George Floyd is one of many Black people killed by excessive police force). White people focus on the individual star (intent), People of Color see the constellations of stars (impact). My white brothers and sisters in Minnesota, don’t run from the discomfort of this. Look for the constellations, do your own homework, and support a new way of being a white person.
Lord, have mercy. Forgive us. May we all mourn the loss of George Floyd loudly and unabashedly within a system that wishes to quickly move on.
5/28/20
MEISTER ECKHART & MOTHER JONES. If the kids go down easy tonight, I can be found raising a pint to Bernard McGinn as he schools me about Meister Eckhart. A masterful communicator and robust writer of medieval mystics McGinn is opening up his brain for the whole public to hear his thoughts on Meister Eckhart. It is free, register here. Prepare to learn nothing.
For those not tickled by Meister Eckhart, check out Mother Jones.
“Through story and song, Vivian Nesbitt (Breaking Bad, The Night Shift, Longmire, Law & Order SVU) portrays Mary Harris “Mother” Jones, with musical accompaniment by John Dillon, in Si Kahn‘s one-woman musical about the infamous labor organizer famed for her tireless efforts on behalf of the rights of the working class.” You can watch live and for free online here (I’m hoping to catch the replay down the line).
5/27/20
SCREEN DOORS. Friend of Contemplify, Cal Newport, shares his informed take on thoughtless practices of technological consumption and how to define one’s own relationship with technology. This is an important read for any of you (like me) who are in quarantine and are examining your personal devotion to technology.
5/26/20
A WELL-EXERCISED GROUND. Hot diggity dogski! Contemplify Quarantine Edition #9 is available here.
5/25/20
REMEMBER. A featherweight Black-Chinned Hummingbird lays lifeless in the gutter. Did the hummingbird’s bones suddenly grow heavy or is there more to the story? I suspect the neighbor’s cat is looking for an alibi. Lines from the poet Jim Harrison lilt to memory,
“I once saw a bird fall out
of a tree stone dead. I nudged it surprised
at its feather lightness that allowed it to fly.
I buried it in earth where they don’t belong
any more than we do. Dead birds should be
monuments suspended forever in the air.” (“Seventy-Four“)
This is doubly true for hummingbirds. I had never seen a dead hummingbird until this moment and it scrambles my sense of reality. Memorializing the dead is a sacred act, take care to remember yours today.
5/24/20
QUOTE ME ON THAT. Cliched quotes are a dime a dozen. Lines divine are milked by a wordsmith’s hand from the teats of the bovine muse. Then edited and re-edited until their natural essence is all that remains. What lines or quotes stick to the roof of your mouth today?
“What I wear is pants. What I do is live. How I pray is breathe. Who said Zen? Wash out your mouth if you said Zen. If you see a meditation going by, shoot it. Who said “Love?” Love is in the movies. The spiritual life is something that people worry about when they are so busy with something else they think they ought to be spiritual. Spiritual life is guilt. Up here in the woods is seen the New Testament: that is to say, the wind comes through the trees and you breathe it. “ — Thomas Merton
“Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.“ — Fannie Lou Hamer
“Rivers flow not past, but through us; tingling, vibrating, exciting every cell and fiber in our bodies, making them sing and glide.“— John Muir
“Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things
Whoever has God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.“ — Teresa of Avila
“The question is not what you look at but what you see.” — Henry David Thoreau
“”Half of the people can be part right all of the time
And some of the people can be all right part of the time
But all of the people can’t be all right all of the time”
I think Abraham Lincoln said that
“I’ll let you be in my dream if I can be in yours”
I said that.“ — Bob Dylan
5/23/20
HEROES. Bowie still has the power to make me happy (and 6000 strangers singing together).
“Pub Choir, a company that usually organizes live singing events in pubs, mainly in Australia, is known for connecting people through music. You buy a ticket and go to the performance where they provide the lyrics and instructions for everyone to be part of the choir. With everything now going virtual, Pub Choir joined the party with Couch Choir. Recently they performed “Heroes,” by David Bowie, inviting people from all over the world to submit a video of themselves singing along to an instructional video from Couch Choir. They received 6,000 submissions from 45 countries, and their videographer then edited the videos together to create a beautiful performance dedicated to all the front-line heroes.” (h/t Cliff via karunavirus.com)
5/22/20
‘TIS THE GIFT. My nephew played the Shaker song “Simple Gifts” at his piano recital (viewed over Zoom) on Tuesday. The song is one verse and opens with the lines,
’Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free
’Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,”
Simplicity, freedom, and ‘where we ought to be’ don’t carry the right weight on our culture’s scales. Simplicity is seen as poor, freedom is the ‘right’ to do what you want, and right-sizing a person’s footprint within the whole of humanity is denigrating.
In this spirit, I watched the short film, Il Pescatore Completo (h/t to Brian for reminding me of it) that tracks Arturo Pugno’s way of fishing that dates back to the 16th century and is only passed on through observation; of a hand made tools, of skill with the homemade tools, and a tender lifelong affair with the river. As noted in the film, a life dedicated to the ‘simple gifts’ and mastery of a craft is as rare as a modern day Shaker.
5/21/20
STAY VULNERABLE. When songwriters Jason Isbell & Amanda Shires were set to exchange marriage vows they first went around asking for advice. They sought a word of salvation from couples who had walked a bog or two, climbed the highest peak and tumbled back down to sea level. Amanda asked John Prine, “What is the secret to staying together?” His response, “Stay vulnerable.” On a separate occasion he asked John’s wife, Fiona Prine, the same question and received the same advice.
I was touched by this simple response from the Prines and believe it. This season of pandemic calls for tenfold vulnerability. The hardened heart plays the cynic, the vulnerable heart embraces the wounded real. Massaging a hardened heart back to its vulnerable origins can cause carpal tunnel. Stay vulnerable.
5/20/20
FEED THE PIGEONS. The song ‘Clay Pigeons’ is a lit cigarette in the pitch of night. It shows up out of nowhere and my senses raise thirteen notches. Certain songs are like that. They never leave me alone and this is one of them. Listen below to hear Ben Harper play Blaze Foley’s ‘Clay Pigeons‘ in honor of John Prine.
5/19/20
REMEMBER. I never met Zen teacher Jitsudo Alfred Ancheta. Some of my friends and acquaintances were his students. He lived in my town and at one point he even lived right next door to one of my best pals. From time to time I have meditated in his home turf, in a Zendo hidden in the middle of Albuquerque where he would lead a small group of dedicated students. We never crossed meditation cushions, I always thought we would. The lore around his wise presence, his block prints hanging on friends’ walls, and his engagement with the world always felt like a circular course was being charted for us to meet in due time. That opportunity was transient and I am now left with the sting of not seeking it. Even from afar I admire teachers like Jitsudo; living a simple way, guiding the next generation, in the quiet heart of my city.
He passed away earlier this month. A deep bow to all the hidden contemplatives in our midst and those who are joining Jitsudo beyond the veil during this time.
5/18/20
NEW FOUNDATIONS. A new Quarantine Edition was rayed into your inbox this morning. Right, that is how email works? If the ray process malfunctioned, you can read Contemplify Quarantine Edition #8 here.
5/17/20
VISIBILITY. Last week’s Quarantine Edition #7 followed the swinging thoughts of my running route. This week Ahmaud Arbery was my companion on these runs. Arbery’s death stung my understanding of running as a white man. When I push the pavement, heave and sweat I am always trying to make myself visible to drivers so they don’t hit me. Arbery’s visibility as a Black man running was evidence enough for two white men to grab firearms, make chase, and kill him. Until this week I didn’t realize how ‘white’ recreational running was within our system. The heat of the pandemic of Covid-19 steadily burns away the blinders that shielded me from the virus of structural racism that has been ravaging our country for centuries. It is true that the dismantling of this system of dominance will be a marathon, not a sprint. We will need those accustomed to running in peace to cultivate a respect for the bodies of others as much as they do their own white body.
5/16/20
DHARMA BUM. I missed Gary Snyder’s 90th birthday by over a week. A hero of mine and no way to say it properly. In honor of Gary, I share one of his poems below. Gift yourself a copy of his poetry during this pandemic. Might save your muddy soul too.
Axe Handles
by Gary Snyder
One afternoon the last week in April
Showing Kai how to throw a hatchet
One-half turn and it sticks in a stump.
He recalls the hatchet-head
Without a handle, in the shop
And go gets it, and wants it for his own.
A broken-off axe handle behind the door
Is long enough for a hatchet,
We cut it to length and take it
With the hatchet head
And working hatchet, to the wood block.
There I begin to shape the old handle
With the hatchet, and the phrase
First learned from Ezra Pound
Rings in my ears!
“When making an axe handle
the pattern is not far off.”
And I say this to Kai
“Look: We’ll shape the handle
By checking the handle
Of the axe we cut with—”
And he sees. And I hear it again:
It’s in Lu Ji’s Wên Fu, fourth century
A.D. “Essay on Literature”-—in the
Preface: “In making the handle
Of an axe
By cutting wood with an axe
The model is indeed near at hand.”
My teacher Shih-hsiang Chen
Translated that and taught it years ago
And I see: Pound was an axe,
Chen was an axe, I am an axe
And my son a handle, soon
To be shaping again, model
And tool, craft of culture,
How we go on.
(and for those smitten, further it in this New Yorker profile.)
5/15/20
INDEPENDENT. Starting today there is an online festival titled Bookstock that celebrates and supports independent bookstores, artist, and authors. Some greats will be in attendance; Greg Brown, Terry Tempset Williams, Jeffrey Foucault, Chris Dombrowski, Charlie Parr, and Carolyn Finney to name those top of mind. If only we could bottle that sweet fragrance of independent bookstores that mixes old dust covers with pages smeared by hungry readers…with one whiff the soul leaps right into the sternum.
Any way I can step up to support independent artists and bookstores I will. They provide the space for imagination and craft beyond the bestseller mold and confessional hacks that the box stores provide. Check it out here at bookstockcoop.com
5/14/20
DEPOPULATION. Language is a finicky living organism. There are words that sing (‘finicky’) and words that sink (‘depopulation’). As the the news updates you or bombards your sense of well being, I pray that your awareness of words is on high alert. For instance, you may have noticed passivity in responses from officials around reports in which the virus is affecting the elderly and People of Color. This blatant lack of concern over bodies that are not revered in dominant culture showcases our priorities and this standard is further codified.
Flags are being raised around the American food system. This flag-raising is overdue and I am not surprised it took the urgency of a pandemic to force it. Check out this quote from John H. Tyson, chair of one largest food companies in the world Tyson Foods, “The food supply chain is breaking” and warned that “millions of animals — chickens, pigs, and cattle will be depopulated because of the closure of our processing facilities.”” (bold is me). I eat meat and raise a chicken for eggs. I am a carnivore. This abstract language is dangerous and I am appalled at the distance in relationships between those who eat (which I think is all of us) and the reality of food production and animal welfare. The path of abstraction is the path to destruction. My prayer today is that we have the eyes to see the sin of abstraction. This ‘necessary evil’ is our collective make-a-wish for a clean conscious despite the evidence of brutality forced upon our brothers and sisters in slaughterhouses and the creatures we raise (the four-leggeds and two-leggeds) with cheap lives for cheap food. Lord have mercy.
5/13/20
MORNING STROLL. Walking is my most gratifying practice on this quarantined contemplative path right now. Is it mindful? Kinda. It is prayerful? Sorta. Is it heartful? Yes. Each day kicks off with my two kiddos and me gearing up and going outside (breakfast snacks included). The morning stroll to the park marks the morning hour of prayer and welcomes the Mystery of the day under a canopy of trees. God rushes to meet us there in the wind, dew, and sun shining slant. God has a full wardrobe closet, she shows up in a new outfit each morning to play with us. When God’s presence tips my tea or splits the light in the tree branch, I breathe deeply and pray – Lord, have mercy. I take a breath in and feel the fullness of being a Dad, Husband, contemplative, and fool and let go with an exhaling ‘thank you’ for another day to walk this day in front of me. After the morning’s service has closed (or the sprinklers have turned on) we make our exit for home. I am dirtier, hungrier, and more grounded than when we arrived, but I am able to start this day of work from a moment of stillness.
Even when chaos rules the morning–the kids are wound up or the wind blows our hats into the bushes–there is an uninvited flash of stillness, and yet wholly embraced for its bold arrival. Attune to the flashes of stillness.
5/12/20
Once you open Pandora’s box you get a friend request, but the risk of that request being a poet might be worth it. Poet and understated American treasure, Billy Collins, is doing pop-up poetry via Facebook Live. Humor and light earnest touches were the early marks that made Collins one of my poet dealers when I was first getting hooked. (h/t Brother Mark)
5/11/20
It has happened again. I have cheated father time and somehow managed to stitch together enough coherent sentences and send out another Contemplify NonRequired Practice List (Quarantine Edition #7) before Monday shutters her doors . You too can cheat time and read this List whenever you want.
5/10/20
I don’t like Facebook. My two bit opinion is that it steals attention and sells it to the highest bidder under the guise of social connection. I still hold a distant hope that they will have a change of heart and build a new type of company through owning its mistakes and redirecting its energy. I digress down a dark alley that I best turn around and walk back towards the light before getting lost. So whatever conflicted feelings you hold (or perhaps you hold none) please enjoy this at-home concert from a top shelf songwriter, Jeffrey Foucault. He kicks it off by reading a favorite poem of mine by Chris Dombrowksi. Watch it once, watch it again. I know I will even though it can only be viewed via Facebook.
5/9/20
Depending who you talk to Julian of Norwich‘s Feast Day was yesterday (May 8) or is just around the corner (May 13). This quote from Julian is worth pondering over a lifetime.
“Wouldst thou learn thy Lord’s meaning in this thing? Learn it well: Love was His meaning. Who shewed it to thee? Love. What shewed He to thee? Love. Why shewed it He? For Love. Hold thee therein and thou shalt learn and know more of the same. Thus was I learned that Love is our Lord’s meaning.” (h/t Richard)
Frank Ostaseki taught a practice for when the anxiety of the pandemic simmers your heart. Frank offered the practice of holding your hand over your heart and reciting the mantra over and over again, “I choose love.” Dame Julian would fully endorse this heart-centered practice.
5/8/20
In the quiet of night, how do you draw the day to a close? A cup of tea or bowl of chocolate chocolate chip ice cream perhaps. Concrete practices do not push against the flow of the day but welcome its pooling as blessing to the end of an arduous journey. Daily practices on the sly can birth new life more than a near drowning or ecstatic break dances. The fine folks at the Cathedral of the Incarnation have been quietly offering practices that serve as signposts through the life of a day.
Check out their latest, A NIGHTLY EXAMEN. “So many of us go to bed at night with the day racing through our minds. We need a way to both reflect and let go. A daily examen is one way to do this. By reviewing the day that has passed, and preparing for tomorrow with the expectation of God’s continued care, we create the habit of really turning our lives over to God.” Di McCullough
5/7/20
I don’t fancy myself the theatre type. I wish I was, I love seeing live theatre but the cost and pomp that tends to go with it puts me off. But my God, my beloved and I watched ‘Frankenstein’ with Benedict Cumberbatch as the creature from the National Theatre and that lit me up like a bottle rocket. The acting was phenomenal and the moral/existential questions of the play rocked my boat near tipping over into the relationship between creativity, destruction, technology, and the necessary vulnerability of love. A storyline pertinent for our quarantine times.
5/6/20
This poem landed in my inbox this morning and I wanted to share it with you immediately, from Hafiz (h/t Richard). Be kind to yourself.
“Once a young woman said to me, “Hafiz, what is the sign of someone who knows God?”
I became very quiet, and looked deep into her eyes,
Then replied, “My dear, they have dropped the knife,
Someone who knows God has dropped the cruel knife,
That most so often use upon their tender self and others.”
5/5/20
There is a vacuum of celebrating public heroes…and superhero movies rush to fill it. In my opinion we create near perfect characters for the silver screen (with one whopper of a flaw that they can work on for the duration of the film) to avoid the subtlety of exercising real character in complex circumstances. Why do I bring this up? One of my hopes is that during this quarantine that friends of Contemplify will seek out real examples of character to emulate, study the practices of their tradition, and commit themselves to a way of being in a particular place in the world.
Homework To Do (and this will only be checked by your conscious)
- Who are your heroes?
- Why are they your heroes?
- What aspects of their character to aspire to live up to?
- How do you plan to do so?
5/4/20
The Contemplify Monthly NonRequired Reading List for April comes out May 4th this year. The reason is not intentional, but forgetful. In the midst of all the emails I plum forget. If you have forgotten to sign up for this email, you can read it here.
5/3/20
Has the quarantine upended the character you thought you were playing in life? Take a beat and listen to Bill Murray. He knows a thing or two about being a character and being yourself.
The Transcript…
Let’s all ask ourselves that question right now: What does it feel like to be you? What does it feel like to be you? Yeah. It feels good to be you, doesn’t it? It feels good, because there’s one thing that you are — you’re the only one that’s you, right?
So you’re the only one that’s you, and we get confused sometimes — or I do, I think everyone does — you try to compete. You think, damn it, someone else is trying to be me. Someone else is trying to be me. But I don’t have to armor myself against those people; I don’t have to armor myself against that idea if I can really just relax and feel content in this way and this regard.
If I can just feel… Just think now: How much do you weigh? This is a thing I like to do with myself when I get lost and I get feeling funny. How much do you weigh? Think about how much each person here weighs and try to feel that weight in your seat right now, in your bottom right now. Parts in your feet and parts in your bum. Just try to feel your own weight, in your own seat, in your own feet. Okay? So if you can feel that weight in your body, if you can come back into the most personal identification, a very personal identification, which is: I am. This is me now. Here I am, right now. This is me now. Then you don’t feel like you have to leave, and be over there, or look over there. You don’t feel like you have to rush off and be somewhere. There’s just a wonderful sense of well-being that begins to circulate up and down, from your top to your bottom. Up and down from your top to your spine. And you feel something that makes you almost want to smile, that makes you want to feel good, that makes you want to feel like you could embrace yourself.
So, what’s it like to be me? You can ask yourself, “What’s it like to be me?” You know, the only way we’ll ever know what it’s like to be you is if you work your best at being you as often as you can, and keep reminding yourself: That’s where home is.
Read the full article at openculture.com
5/2/20
Did you hear about the 1,000-year-old mill that has resumed production due to demand for flour? When dismissed technology is put to use, and good use, I think of Dōgen’s Instructions for the Cook. To hold this story metaphorically, what is most important is oft hidden in plain sight. What hidden or neglected elements need to be reintegrated into your life?
5/1/20
I awoke with this song on my lips. Seven years have spun by since it last tickled my ears. May the littlest birds attend to your needs for beauty today.