May 19, 2003

boxes

box one
“It’s a coping mechanism left over from the divorce. He puts things in compartments and can only have one out at a time. He’s got his ‘Buddhism Box’, his ‘Going to the Bar Box’, his ‘Dad Box’, his ‘Mom Box’ and none of them mix with each other.”

My wife is concerned that despite being a Libra, I’m seemingly unable to find any sort of balance in my life. One extreme to the other she says. My dad, however, has it all figured out. He knows what makes me tick. I wouldn’t have probably seen it in this light, but it seems pretty accurate. It also explains why some things are forgotten so quickly... they get put in a box, closed up and never heard from again.

box two
Our trip to Spokane for a post-Mother’s Day celebration was exactly as it should have been. Good car ride over, good visit upon arrival, shopping, eating, talking, drive home.

[I’m going to attempt a dangerous mix of boxes here. You’ve been warned.] My step-mom has this theory that people’s personalities condense as they get older. They shuck off the parts they don’t find useful anymore and you’re left with the core personallity. Well, on this latest visit I really noticed this with both my mom and my step-dad. [My mom and her boyfriend of the last... I don’t know, 18 years(?) are not officially married. Some could argue that he is not my step-dad, but I would argue otherwise.] My mom has ditched any patience with my step-dad when he’s been drinking and my step-dad has reduced his comedic routine down to a precious few jokes.

In high school I would have friends over and they all gathered around for the events that would follow when my parents got home from the bar. It was a good time. We’d all be silly, appologetic, then silly some more. It wasn’t like that much this time. Maybe I’ve changed, maybe they have. It was a great visit if you take out about six hours. Then again, those six hours were to be expected and it wouldn’t be a visit without them. I learned a great deal about my step-dad’s travels with the Merchant Marines, the passenger cruise ships and the Air Force. It took him nearly all the way around the world a couple of times. I felt a bit inadequite pointing at Montana, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Florida and England as the only places I’ve been to.

box three
The moon is moving away from Earth at a rate of 1.5 inches per year. This is one foot every other presidential election. The moon keeps our environment in balance by keeping our rotation around the axis at a pretty steady 23 degrees. They figure that thousands of years ago the moon’s movement away from Earth caused a shift of 1 degree and turned the once lush birthplace of mankind into the Sahara desert.

The coral reefs in various places throughout the globe are in danger and in some cases are dying off. One of the factors is a rise in ocean temperatures of just two degrees. Another is massive amounts of silt being pushed downstream and into the ocean from logging of the rain forests. I used to be more liberal and I used to get very upset when I heard things like this. Now, I don’t worry about it too much because it seems that whether we log the rain forests or not, the moon is still moving away from us and will still eventually cause Earth’s demise. Besides, if Buddhism is correct then the Earth isn’t existing from it’s own side. It exists in your mind and if you see a world with global warming, pollution and a moon that keeps running away then you better fix your karma so you don’t have to see all of that in the future.

posted @ 8:07 AM

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