FIRST BANANA BLOSSOM
This is the first blossom to appear on a banana tree I transplanted when moving from the country more than two years ago. I spotted it yesterday. To watch it grow and unfold from this first emergence will be a treat.
A Visit from God
When I sit at my computer I’m near the front windows of the room, looking out over some low shrubs to the front lawn. During the morning a wren began hopping and fluttering around the top of the shrubs. I was entranced to see it so close. Then it walked up and down the windowsill outside my open window. It was near enough to touch.
There is really something magical about seeing a wild bird within an arm’s length. But more important than that, I had the sudden, strong feeling that the bird was a pure embodiment of the divine, God . . . that Source essence which we can never understand. It was similar to the experience I tried to describe in the post, “Feline Philosophy”
KITTEN IN HER HANGING NEST
Star has learned to climb the trellis and drop herself into this hanging basket five feet above the deck. It is now her favorite hangout.
SUMMER READING
When I began blogging not many months ago I decided to create this philosophical/spiritual blog and another blog which would deal with politics and such harsh realities as war. I’m beginning to wonder now if such segregation is possible. Can we comfortably devote ourselves to the spiritual and philosophical and yet ignore the injustices and governmental crimes around us?
Yes, many sages have seen detachment as a part of spiritual practice, and if one wants a peaceful soul and a calm mind one should stay away from the kinds of things I write about on VIEW FROM THE MOON. In particular one should not read newspapers or watch the propaganda called “news” on television. I certainly am less happy than I was before I started paying attention to “the news” and current horrors in order to write my other blog. I often think of quitting that blog, washing my hands of the dirtiness of politics and international events, and dwelling on truth and beauty.
I think of Voltaire’s Candide, after all his misadventures and the horrors he has witnessed, settling on his little farm and concluding that all he knows is that "we must cultivate our garden." After Candide’s friend Martin says, "Work then without disputing; it is the only way to render life supportable," and the philosopher Pangloss mouths some of his useless observations about the best of all possible worlds, Candide answers, “Excellently observed, but let us cultivate our garden."
This reminds me (I know I’m beginning to ramble) of Anton Chekhov's (my favorite playwright) recurring contrast of the health of country life and work with the decadence of city life and idleness.
It might seem by now as if I’m recommending as summer reading “Candide” or the “The Cherry Orchard” or “Uncle Vanya”, but the book I had in mind is “Palestine Peace Not Apartheid”, by former President Jimmy Carter. As I said above, I’ve indulged in some apartheid of my own by keeping “real life” out of FLIGHTS OF PEGASUS, but even if this is the only time I break the wall, I want to urge people, especially Americans, to read Carter’s book. It is very clear, very succinct, contains valuable source materials, and is especially interesting because of Carter’s personal involvement.
