Loved this post and the snapshot into your extraordinary everyday lives. I haven't left the farm for more than a day since I got my dairy goat herd many years ago. Luckily I am a natural recluse so they have been very useful at getting me out of all sorts of pointless obligations.
“But she cannot understand what we Westerners get out of this, endlessly discussing the minutiae of our differences in opinion, often about things so far removed from our lives that the utility of such exchange is highly dubious, always wanting to convince others to think like we do.”
Very well said! Here in the West, we would all do with a healthy dose of teachings from Zen about the reality of our present moment experience, as well as ‘non-belief’. We are taught from a young age as if our beliefs are ‘real’, and that we must fight and promote our own above others. When you realize that beliefs are simply, mentally speaking, a strong emotion plus a thought or two wrapped together, they become a little more silly.
When you are able to be even somewhat mindful of your experience of the present moment rather than being caught up in and distracted by these beliefs, it seems even sillier still how so many of us spend our lives in a self-inflicted mental beehive when we are born already knowing how to perfectly experience and be in the world.
Long story short, I agree with your wife a lot! And this is coming from someone who loves debate and getting caught up in having the right beliefs/mouth sounds!
This is, once again, awesome David. I love how you’ve written this one.
9C !! That’s positively arctic compared to our 19C at the lowest. And I struggle in that temperature. Blankets.... does Karn call a thin cotton sheet a blanket? Because over here that’s often the case 🤷
This was filled with so many good details and thoughts, thank you mate!
Loved this post and the snapshot into your extraordinary everyday lives. I haven't left the farm for more than a day since I got my dairy goat herd many years ago. Luckily I am a natural recluse so they have been very useful at getting me out of all sorts of pointless obligations.
“But she cannot understand what we Westerners get out of this, endlessly discussing the minutiae of our differences in opinion, often about things so far removed from our lives that the utility of such exchange is highly dubious, always wanting to convince others to think like we do.”
Very well said! Here in the West, we would all do with a healthy dose of teachings from Zen about the reality of our present moment experience, as well as ‘non-belief’. We are taught from a young age as if our beliefs are ‘real’, and that we must fight and promote our own above others. When you realize that beliefs are simply, mentally speaking, a strong emotion plus a thought or two wrapped together, they become a little more silly.
When you are able to be even somewhat mindful of your experience of the present moment rather than being caught up in and distracted by these beliefs, it seems even sillier still how so many of us spend our lives in a self-inflicted mental beehive when we are born already knowing how to perfectly experience and be in the world.
Long story short, I agree with your wife a lot! And this is coming from someone who loves debate and getting caught up in having the right beliefs/mouth sounds!
This is, once again, awesome David. I love how you’ve written this one.
9C !! That’s positively arctic compared to our 19C at the lowest. And I struggle in that temperature. Blankets.... does Karn call a thin cotton sheet a blanket? Because over here that’s often the case 🤷
This was filled with so many good details and thoughts, thank you mate!
Дякую!