Tag Archive for 'travel'

Published
by
Mike
on December 7, 2006
in Books, Nonsense and Religion/Spirituality
. 0 Comments

It’s been pretty windy and wet here lately, but I’ve been trying to get outside and take walks when I have the time. I really enjoy it, as I can feel the power of nature and witness winter in a way I hadn’t really appreciated before. I’ve written a few haiku based on my walks. Being out there seems to inspire that sort of thing.

I’m feeling good right now. It’s been a really intense month or two at work, and I was having a lot of problems dealing with it. I’ve always had a hard time dealing with stress, and working extra hours and being under a lot of pressure didn’t help things. I think I’ve finally gotten to the point where I can deal with things properly, though. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in the past, but as long as I give myself enough time for meditation and reflection, I think things will stay good. I just need to use the time I have wisely instead of avoiding things in my life.

I’ve been reading a book called The Places that Scare You by Pema Chödrön which contains a lot of techniques which have helped me lately. I’ve really enjoyed it, and I may read some more of Pema Chödrön’s work. I think I’ll also reread some of my Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hahn books as well. Both of their teachings have really helped me in the past.

Steph got me a couple of books which I think I’ll enjoy. I’ve been meaning to read something by Nietzsche for a while now, so she got me Basic Writings of Nietzsche. She also got me Goethe’s Faust which is awesome, as I’ve always wanted to read it. I still have yet to get stuck into Walden, so I’ll have to read that as well. It looks like I’ll be busy during my week off this month.

I still haven’t edited my photos from our America trip yet. I keep meaning to do it, but it slips my mind. I’ll try to post some when I get a chance. I hope all of you have a wonderful season, whatever your holidays or beliefs may be.

Published
by
Mike
on May 31, 2006
in Nonsense and Photography
. 0 Comments

We’re back from our trip to Paris last week, but I haven’t had a chance to write anything until now. It was a good trip, and it allowed me a good opportunity to just chill out and relax. We didn’t do a whole lot that I can talk about. We just walked around a lot, ate a lot of unhealthy food, and I took a bunch of pictures.

We did go to a jazz club one night, which was nice. The music was good and there were a bunch of people dancing. Steph and I can’t dance, but it made us want to take up lessons or something because it looked fun. I guess it would be a nice thing to do together.

I have some of the photos from the trip up on my flickr page, but some of the photos didn’t turn out well due to a n00b error. I had the ISO settings on the camera turned up high from the night before, and then I took a bunch of photos that way and they all ended up really grainy, so those aren’t included on the flickr page. I heard that there is a way to fix those but I think it involves blurring somehow, which seems like it would lessen the quality anyway. I’ll probably put more pictures up there later, but that’s all for right now. Here is a link to the Paris set. Here are some of the photos.

Street Corner

Flower Shop

View From Balcony

Wife

Today is a busy day!

Published
by
Mike
on September 20, 2004
in Nonsense
. 0 Comments

Waiting with me has been mainly a cheerful acquiescence in the order of the universe as I found it - a faith in the essential veracity of things. I have waited for the sun to rise and for the seasons to come; I have waited for a chance to put in my oar. Which way do the currents of my being set? What do I love that is worthy and of good report? I will extend myself in this direction; I will annex this territory. I will not wait to see if this or that pays, if this or that notion draws the multitude. I will wait only till I can see my way clearly. In the meantime I will be clearing my eyes and training them to know the real values of life when they see them.
– John Burroughs

That was a quote by the American naturalist John Burroughs, who is considered to be the father of the American nature essay. He lived a very interesting life, and had a lot of wisdom to offer to the world. He apparently had a lot of famous visitors in his later life, including Thomas Edison, Walt Whitman, Teddy Roosevelt, and fellow naturalist John Muir. The quote above was posted on the daily dao website on friday, and I can see why. Whether labeled as that or not, naturalists all over the world have been echoing the sentiments of Taoists of old.

Modern man is always concerned with manipulation and use of the natural world. This is our modern ego coming into play. The best use of the natural world is not use at all, in the way we think of it. Use by enjoyment, appreciation, and respect is the most efficient way that we can “use” our resources.

When one steps into the natural world, there is a calming effect. The human spirit is soothed by the presence of peaceful beings which do not judge or require things of us. A few minutes a day spent in the company of trees can relieve the stress of the office, or make one forget the problems of everyday life. Simply looking at it, the natural world puts us in our place and puts things in our lives into perspective.

I personally cannot think of time I've spent under a tree that I didn't enjoy. I'd like to be under one now, but as the weather grows colder, we tend to retreat into our houses. This autumn and winter I'd like to spend a bit more time venturing into the outdoors to take walks, etc…it's good for the body and the mind.

On another note, we spent a little time yesterday at Borders in Swindon, where we basically sat and read a bit. I spend my time reading The Te Of Piglet, which is starting out quite pleasant and has actually put some things straight in my mind that maybe other interpretations of Taoist writings may not have done well. Steph spent her time reading the Dalai Lama's autobiography, Freedom in Exile. I know a little bit about his life, having seen some movies and read a little bit, but it looks pretty interesting. I may read that at some point. After reading the Te of Piglet, I plan on reading a book about Che Guevera, possibly. Either that or some spanish language instruction, or possibly something else Tao or Zen related. It's going to be a thing we do every Sunday that we are in the area. I guess if we're not in the area on a lot of Sundays, we could move it to a week night.

So, we'll be gearing up for our Paris trip pretty soon. I'm looking forward to it, but I really have no idea what to expect. It should be an adventure.

Anyway, maybe I'll post more in a while…gonna be a busy day. That's all for now.

Test

Published
by
Mike
on May 4, 2004
in Nonsense
. 0 Comments

I took my promotion test today….I can’t say that I care much anymore whether I make rank or not. It no longer bothers me. People can step on me as much as they want…I know that when I get out in a few years, I can say what I think of them, turn my back, and live a better life than they ever will….and be truely happy and guiltless for once when the next armed conflict comes along. I will no longer be contributing to needless bloodshed. Anyway, I don’t know how well I did. I don’t really care much. The extra money would be nice, but it isn’t that much more, and we generally have what we need. I’m not terribly bothered about it.

So, Spain in a month. Good times. I really need to contact Amanda, because I don’t even know if she knows I’m coming, even though I emailed her about it. She never responds! Maybe I’ll resend it with a litte “hello?” at the top.

Steph and I might take a language class later this year! Wouldn’t that be nice? We were looking at Japanese, maybe. We’ll see how that goes. Anyway, better get to work.

Any takers on the random object?