Craig's Fire

….in this case, the Beast being us and Beauty being what we describe as such. I heard an NPR show on How Pleasure Works and it got me thinking….. Read More…

Pulled these gems off an interview with the director about his new movie – which itself is about the Grim Reaper:
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“I find it a lousy deal. There is no advantage to getting older,” he says, raising more laughs.
“I’m 74 now and you don’t get smarter, you don’t get wiser, you don’t get more mellow, you don’t get more kindly – nothing happens.
“But your back hurts more, you get more indigestion, your eye sight isn’t as good and you need a hearing aid. It’s a bad business getting older and I would advise you not to do it if you can avoid it.”
Throughout the film each of the characters are forced to make big decisions about their lives.
“One must have one’s delusions to live. If you look at life too honestly and too clearly life does become unbearable because it’s a pretty grim enterprise,” Allen says.
“I do feel that it is a grim, painful, nightmarish, meaningless experience and that the only way that you can be happy is if you tell yourself some lies and deceive yourself.”
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End Quotes – there are some true words in there!
Or at least that is the way I have been feeling as of late!

Mechanic’s Mind - a term I have not heard before – and yet one that would seem to be obvious. I have never read “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, yet the title brings to mind a definition possibly close to Mechanics Mind.

For the uninitiated, the closest thing might be the 1963 Movie Classic “The Man with the X-Ray Eyes“. This is the story of a normal man who started to see through things. At first, he only saw through the first layer…such as clothes or a wall. But as his powers increased, he started to see the breakdown of EVERYTHING to the extent that it all eventually became molecular! Read More…

A society or economy or country built entirely on the ethic of survival of the fittest simply will not work. Here are some examples…

A talented and strong employee stays employed due to his experience and capabilities. But what if he falls off a ladder next week, hits his head and loses a good part of his cognition? Would we then tell him to become homeless or that he does not deserve a job? Read More…

Readers of this post should first catch up by reading the first part.
After hanging with Ken (the Fisherman) for a day or two, he pulled us aside for a personal chat and said “you folks don’t belong here (in town). I have some people I’d like you to meet”. Heck, we figured anyone who was alright with Ken was fine by us, so we answered in the affirmative.
He took us on a long walk up the coast road……for those who know Negril, this is past the caves and cliffs where the road gets lost in the bush. At some point we turned into the bush, and walked down a rugged path into the hills. Read More…

Here is an interesting article on a man who made it in life – and then came to an understanding of what he had and what he didn’t.

Here is a paragraph which expresses well the way I feel when I’ve been on vacation in certain places:
“The tipping point came while he was on a three-week holiday with his wife to islands of Hawaii.
“It was the biggest shock in my life, when I realised how horrible, soulless and without feeling the five star lifestyle is,” he said. “In those three weeks, we spent all the money you could possibly spend. But in all that time, we had the feeling we hadn’t met a single real person – that we were all just actors. The staff played the role of being friendly and the guests played the role of being important and nobody was real.”

As mentioned, I often feel the same. In fact, Martha and I were sent to Jamaica on a FREE trip by one of our vendors way back in 1986…..and I was unable to enjoy myself due to the wide and obvious gulf between the residents and the tourists. That has held relatively true to this day…not that I don’t enjoy luxury (I very much do!), but I don’t like going places where I am the center of attention as opposed to just visiting. An example might be that I would prefer touring Montreal or London rather than being enclosed in a fenced “all inclusive” places which was secured from the locals “for my protection”.

I’m not judging those , obviously numerous, who can feel comfortable in those situations. I am admittedly over sensitive in many ways, and this is one of them!

(Note – this is from a retreat I attended in 2002
Greetings, my fellow human beings.

I have returned from the depths of my own personal hell. The ten day meditation retreat (http://www.dhamma.org/) that I attended was quite a trip, to put it lightly. I’m be writing more about it, but suffice it to say:

IT KICKED THE SHIT OUT OF ME! Read More…

Take it from me—the original type “A” personality. It pays to keep yourself rested and healthy. I worked 60 to 70 hours a week for many years while I started and ran my businesses. Yes, I enjoyed it, but this stress took it’s toll. Read More…