Thinking leads one to strange places. I realized yesterday that I have become too concerned with the national news. There is very little I can do to effect it but I can refuse to participate in the national malaise that is America today. What ever happened to the days when we were the good guys?
This line of thought was predicated by an e-mail message from a loved one suggesting that I visit www.michaelpalinfor president. It generated pleasant memories and pleasant thoughts. It might not be a bad idea.
I have been watching the Washington D.C. Flying Circus for eight years. It is about time that the silliness provide some entertainment rather than world wide apprehension. I nominate Michael Palin's character of the man with two bums for president. We have seen what one a-hole can accomplish in eight years, imagine if we had two in charge! The Ministry of Silly walks could conduct tours of Iraq and Afghanistan.
There is too much going on. My life is simple and very routine. I get up around two A.M. each day. I fritter three or four hours away on the computer. I go for a walk. I cook. I clean. I read and I go to bed. I am tired of all the craziness that is the news.
I was sitting and thinking of a simpler way when an old memory came to light, the Jains. They have had the secret to simplicity for six thousand years. I started thinking about their view of karma. They figured out string theory four thousand years ago.
I went to bed and the usual worries leaped out of the pillow. I lay there in the dark, fretting over various things. My worrying was interrupted by the lonely tolling of the church bell announcing the time. I pondered the simplicity and beauty of the sound of the bell. The worrys went away. I thought of the freshness of the air I was breathing in. I thought of the coolness of the water I drink. I thought of the wholeness of the simple foods that I eat. I dozed off.
When I awoke this morning, I thought about what had happened. I had purged my thoughts of the bad thoughts and concentrated on good, simple thoughts. The bad karma that flocks to bad thoughts had drifted away and the good karma had rushed in to be with the good simple thoughts. I could never be a Jain. I am too much of a carnivore, I would have a hard time living without garlic and onions, and I would have a hard time living in harmony with spiders.
Imagine a world run by the Jains. They are renowned for their honesty, integrity, hard work, and living with the planet not on it. Perhaps Azimov's Gaia would eventually come to pass.
As for me, I will live by the side of the road and be a friend to Man.