I'm in San Francisco for a week, taking a break from the winter wonderland that is Canada. Its a harsh climate for this tropical antipodean born human. A primal hunger for Vitamin D and stimulation drove me to take this break from my first full snowy winter!
First shock : The entire North American continent is NOT under snow. Greg's place (where i'm staying) has a GARDEN out back with gorgeous weeds that drew me out like Triffids 10 seconds after arrival. all i wanted to do was get my hands on them. Being in snow and ice everyday, it didn't dawn on me that there are places not so far from Canada that AREN"T!
Second shock : All sorts of my favourite indulgent things endow the city - things i don't get in Cranbrook. Dim Sum! Indian Food! Contact Improvisation, Yoga, Seasides, Cheap chinese foot massages! Broadway! Wierd arty performances! Vintagely fashionable gender benders, funky thrift stores....
Third shock : I don't want to move back to a city, despite the 'trappings' of civilisation. Yoga? Indian Food? Pretty People? So what?? Cities seem so chock full, yet empty. Leah summed it up well last night over tempura soba. Cities are crowded, landscapes are brimming over, people are in close proximity, but, there is such distance between people. In the countryside however, there more space, wild open landscapes, yet, somehow, a closer connection between people.
I'm starting to think that maybe relationships in the city sometimes give the impression of depth and meaning - new age, educated, progressive city slickers know how to talk the talk of emotions and feelings, psychology, liberal politics and to 'be in the now'. People in the country on the other hand might use less words but somehow they know how to BE more authentically...more research and observation required!!
Third shock : I don't want to move back to a city, despite the 'trappings' of civilisation. Yoga? Indian Food? Pretty People? So what?? Cities seem so chock full, yet empty. Leah summed it up well last night over tempura soba. Cities are crowded, landscapes are brimming over, people are in close proximity, but, there is such distance between people. In the countryside however, there more space, wild open landscapes, yet, somehow, a closer connection between people.
I'm starting to think that maybe relationships in the city sometimes give the impression of depth and meaning - new age, educated, progressive city slickers know how to talk the talk of emotions and feelings, psychology, liberal politics and to 'be in the now'. People in the country on the other hand might use less words but somehow they know how to BE more authentically...more research and observation required!!
Fourth Shock : Samsara is Suffering, remember? On first appearance, San Fran seems like the realm of the Gods. One can run from one indulgence to the next. However, to use the traditional Buddhist metaphors of the states of being we find ourselves in, the Hungry Ghost and Hell Realms are very visible here too. Cycling round the city i found myself in very pained neighborhoods full of people on drugs, the homeless, destitute, but more than anything material, in such states of suffering. I felt the pain in my body, fear arose. Seeing such extreme states manifesting clearly in districts such as the Tenderloin, or even the violent memories floating through touristy Alcrataz Prison, have helped me recognise the more subtle hell states within my own being - The "tenderloin" of San Francisco also arises in me and i presume in all of beings, whether consciously or not.
As the Buddha tried to tell us, Samsara and Nirvana are one. Suffering is ripe, it is the nature of the world, as is infinite compassionate bliss - ain't that the lesson of the lifetime!!??
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