Zen and the Art of Simplicity (and motorcycle maintenance)

I find the website http://zenhabits.net/ to be incredibly helpful. There are lots of good articles about decluttering and living simply. It has to do with time and outlook on life as well as stuff.

I found the articles about possessions really intriguing. When we moved to the UK we had to really prioritise what we thought was worth keeping. What books make the cut? What trinkets and ornaments? What stuff? I think we got everything we thought that was worth it into something like 11 boxes. This included our children’s books (both the books themselves and ones about the authors/illustrators), reference books (like Masterplots), books about the Pre-Raphaelites, my Oz collection, a few theatre books, fairy tales, books about Star Trek and The Prisoner (those were Spiderman’s), books about spiders (obviously)  plus a handful of fiction that we turn to again and again like Watership Down or the short stories of Jack Finney. We had lots of mini collections but we narrowed it down to hedgehogs, rocks and minerals, spiders and Oz (as far as having lots of items under one theme) as well as autographs. Oh and glass bottles. We  like to collect old unusual shaped bottles with glass stoppers and fill them with coloured water. They really brighten up a room. But the rest of it--gone. There was no way I was giving up my Oz Barbie Dolls. Have I ever mentioned that I own Oz Barbie dolls???? Well I do. Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion and Glinda plus 3 munchkins. And Dorothy’s ruby slippers light up and says “I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas any more!” and “There’s no place like home!” These are possessions I treasure and would never part with.

Since we’ve moved here we’ve added here and there to collections. And books. We’ve bought more books. Hundreds of books--but all within the above guidelines. Not just any book. Any book that looks interesting is borrowed through the library or from a friend to try it out first and the rule is “As long as there is shelf space it can be bought. When the space runs out, the choice is to get rid of something else to make room or do without it.” In the past we would have just bought another bookshelf. The same goes for CDs and DVDs. When the storage containers are full--they are full. When you want something, it is time to get rid of something you don’t need to make room. Simple.

I find 99% of the time we really only buy what we need. My first question is always “Do we actually need it?” If the answer is yes then I ask “Can I make it myself?” This has worked when I need a backpack and a new key chain and when both Spiderman and I needed new wallets. This also works if I need new clothes.  Then I try to look second hand first to see if I can find it that way. I’ve found all sorts of useful containers for less than £1. We are working hard to have a place for everything and everything in its place. If it doesn’t have a place, then it doesn’t belong. We have just bought 2 more sets of shelves--one each--to be for storage for ongoing projects and craft materials. 

How cluttered are you? Are you weighed down with stuff? We have been conditioned to believe that luxuries are a necessity, that we need things that most of the world doesn’t even dream of having. They’d be happy with clean water, shelter, some food. How much do we really need to be happy? See my next post about the 100 things challenge!  

T’is a Gift to be Simple

The Quaker Testimony of Simplicity is the one I strive towards the most. When we lived in Louisiana we were wasteful, living a huge house (Oh, it was a lovely house!) with lots of things (ah, they were lovely things!) and lots of stuff that just was there taking up space because we had the space to keep it. And there was stuff that had no space and was stacked on the floor. Stuff. We never seemed to throw any thing away. We used to save back the jam jars to use as drinking glasses. I think we got up to 27 glasses for 2 people! And we always let all 27 get dirty before we washed. Why? Like Mt Everest--because they were there.  We also used to buy any old thing that took our fancy. And then brought it home where it sat collecting dust. Nowadays, we just show it to the other person in the shop, say Awwww and walk away.

Advices and Queries 41 says:

Try to live simply. A simple lifestyle freely chosen is a source of strength. Do not be persuaded into buying what you do not need or cannot afford. Do you keep yourself informed about the effects your style of living is having on the global economy and environment?

Quakers are concerned about the excesses and unfairness of our consumer society, and the unsustainable use of natural resources. We try to live simply and to give space for the things that really matter: the people around us, the natural world, our experience of God. (from the leaflet: Living What We Believe- Quaker testimonies: a way of living faithfully)

This is one of the main reasons that plain clothes work for me--not being fussed about what I wear as it is the same every day--dress, apron, shawl, mob cap--leaves me infinite room to serve my fellow travellers who tread upon this earth with me, drink in the glory of the natural world and spend time in the warm Light that is God’s love.

Light in the Soul

This Chinese proverb manages to say in one what I took 9 paragraphs to say. Well done. But I liked it so much I thought I would commit it to memory and recite it every day to myself as a reminder of what I desire.

If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person. If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the house. If there is harmony in the house, there will be order in the nation. If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.

Truer Words Were Never Spoken

Just a quick funny from school:

I was working with a child today and we were practicing irregular past tense verbs. When I do this I normally say something like:

Me: Today I ride the horse but yesterday I ----
Child: Rode the horse.

But today I said:

Me: Today I know the answer but yesterday--
Child: I did not know the answer.

Funny and very probably true.

Peace In Every Step

It is good to think of global peace and about finding an end to war. These are external ways of living the Peace Testimony, but what about internal ways? Can we have world peace when we ourselves are in turmoil?

Mathew 7:3 says: And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye and do not notice the log that is in your own eye? It’s all well and good to be out there campaigning for peace, but we need to start a bit closer to home to really make an impact. This was a mistake I made for many years. I wasted lots of time dwelling in the past--replaying old tapes of bad situations and always lamenting what I should have done which usually culminated in some rather cruel self talk about what a physically repulsive dumbass I was. So yeah. That doesn’t really help. And when I wasn’t dwelling in the past having a jolly good self bashing I was living in the future and crossing bridges and getting stressed over situations that might never come to pass, but I had to angst over them as if they really were about to come true. This made life exceedingly hard when a real serious situation came my way (e.g. Spiderman getting cancer) but it taught me some great lessons. Mathew 6:34 says: Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Easy to say, not so easy to do. Here is where practicing mindfulness can help.

What does this mean? Thich Nhat Hanh Buddhist monk and author of books such as Living Buddha, Living Christ and Peace in Every Step says this:

Practice mindfulness in each moment--to know what is going on within and around us. When we are mindful, touching deeply the present moment, we are always understanding, full of acceptance, love and the desire to relieve suffering and bring joy.

Trying hard to be present in every moment as we do things can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. When walking home today from exercise class the temperature had dropped and the air was cold and heavy with the feeling it might rain any minute. The ground was sticky with molasses like mud everywhere I trod. I reached into my pockets for my gloves, but then I remembered they were in my backpack. I was walking and grumbling and thinking ahead making a list in my head of all the things I needed to do when I got home when I realized I was miserable and needed to be mindful. I stopped. I took a deep breath and I begin to talk myself though it, being aware of all that was around me. It went something like this:

I am walking home, tall and strong from pilates. I am tired, but it is a good tired from having worked hard to make my body strong and flexible.

The ground is muddy, but through the earth I can see the scallion shoots of daffodils poking their green tips up.

The air is cool but my scarf and coat and hat keep me warm. There are many who have no coat or scarf to keep warm. Let me remember then in my prayers and do what I can to help them.

I can hear an orchestra of birdsong from over the hedge by the churchyard. I wonder how many different types of birds there are?

I can see a beautiful, unusual bird with distinct black and white markings. I don’t know what kind it is--I’ve never seen one before. It is so small and frail I am sending it love and warmth and food over the cold January weather.

Before I knew it I was at my door, feeling relaxed and prayerful and happy and realized if I had stayed grumping and stumping and making lists I would never have heard the birdsong or seen the wee black and white bird or noticed the daffodils. 

I find this is also good when cooking. Hare Krishna food tastes so good because they believe they are preparing it for Krishna and so they cook with hearts of love because the food is for God. They put some on a plate and offer it to God first, then serve the people the food that has been lovingly blessed and received by God. When you cook, food tastes better if you prepare it mindfully and with love. I like to focus on who I making it for and picture their bodies being nourished by my vegan food knowing that no animal had to suffer for us to eat. I like to think about the food as I prepare it. You might see just a carrot, but I can see the whole universe. The sun and the soil and the rain and love and energy from the farmer who grew it. When I chop vegetables I like to say things like. “This is a carrot. It grows underground.” or “These are peas, they grow in a pod on a vine.” It just helps you connect with the food and where it comes from and where it is going.

It is easier, I think, to be mindful about your food if you are vegan. If you had to say, “This is milk that comes from a cow that was forcibly inseminated and then gave birth to a calf that was stolen away and she then was milked until her udders were distended and infected with pus as she cried and mooed for her child” or “This is chicken that comes from…a chicken who lived 45 days in an airless shed that had a tiny door at one end so they could call it free range but it never got out. It grew so quickly its legs could not support it and in the end it was dunked still alive in a vat of boiling water to strip the feathers off where it shat itself and then was killed with no stunning so it could end up on my plate.” Somehow I think if I had to trace back those ingredients they would lose their lustre and I would lose my appetite (and possibly my lunch). Thankfully being vegan makes you mindful all the time as you are aware of the suffering of animals and you do not choose to participate in the cycle of suffering. There are so many things in the world to eat that do not cause pain and suffering to our fellow creatures.

Eating mindfully is also worth a try. Instead of golloping your food as you zone out in front of the telly really pay attention to what you eat and the tastes and textures. It will slow you down and help you to eat less. Still working on this one. But with a deep breath, trying to be mindful every day, anything can happen. 

Ride on the Peace Train

This month marks the 350^th anniversary of the Quaker Peace Testimony. For those of you not familiar with Quaker testimonies let me just say that while many religions have creeds to declare their beliefs (think the Apostle’s Creed or Nicene Creed) and sacraments such as baptism or communion and a Pastor/Vicar/Priest to perform these rites, Quakers strip away all that artifice and attempt to have a deep, personal relationship with God without someone there to be a conduit between us and God and without ritual that might get in the way of hearing “the still small voice“ as it speaks to us. My friend Gemma the Hare Krishna nun said it best when we were discussing what we wanted from life:

We are trying to cultivate a relationship with God so we can make a connection on a transcendental level, soul to soul.

Quaker testimonies have a long history. For example, we have worked for the abolition of slavery and are still involved in racial justice issues. Many early Quakers wore undyed clothes and refused sugar for their tea because both indigo for dyes and sugar were both associated with the slave trade. Quaker testimonies exist in spiritually led actions rather than in rigid written form.  (from the leaflet: Living What We Believe- Quaker testimonies: a way of living faithfully)

But back to the Peace Testimony. As I said Quakers don’t have creeds--we have testimonies. The Peace Testimony is the oldest. In 1661 a group of Friends (as Quakers refer to themselves) went Before King Charles II with a document  that explained their position. Quakers believe in “that of God in everyone” and if everyone is a child of God then who are we to kill them? 

This is an extract from the original document but written with modern lettering --the original was really hard to read because the letter s looks like an f. That could cause some real confusion if not careful.

We utterly deny all outward wars and strife and fighting with outward weapons for any end or under any pretence whatsoever. And this is our testimony to the whole world. The spirit of Christ, by which we are guided, is not changeable, so as once to command us from a thing as evil and again to move unto it; and we do certainly know, and so testify to the world, that the spirit of Christ, which leads us into all Truth, will never move us to fight and war against any man with outward weapons, neither for the kingdom of Christ, nor for the kingdoms of this world.

Many Quakers were conscientious objectors in the 2 World Wars. This did not mean they did not serve their country--it simply means they refused to take up arms. The Friends Ambulance Unit worked on the front lines caring for the wounded, but never wounding anyone. They also worked hard after both wars with peace and reconciliation.

Quaker Advices and Queries 31 has this to say about it:

We are called to live 'in the virtue of that life and power that takes away the occasion of all wars'. Do you faithfully maintain our testimony that war and the preparation for war are inconsistent with the spirit of Christ? Search out whatever in your own way of life may contain the seeds of war. Stand firm in our testimony, even when others commit or prepare to commit acts of violence, yet always remember that they too are children of God.

Blessed are the Peacemakers

Vegetarian Vampire

Anyone remember Count D-D-D-Duckula? He was a spin off from Danger Mouse. Well he was a vegetarian vampire duck. This is the season that makes me feel more like a vegetarian vampire (but less like a duck). Can you guess why???? Because it is Blood Orange season! Never had a blood orange? Oh what you are missing. The outside peel looks deceptively like a regular orange, but peel back the peel (??) and the deep ruby fruit is exposed. The colour of a blood orange is a deep crimson and the taste beyond compare. Richly sweet, then tangy and sour then a musky hint of bitter and then back to marvelously sweet. And juicy, always juicy. The scarlet liquid running down your chin like rivers of blood from the neck of a virgin. Then licking the vermilion juice that stains your lips and fingertips. Bliss.

I have a confession to make. I cannot peel a blood orange--or any orange for that matter. The peel refuses to come away and I grip the orange tighter in frustration causing juice to run down my wrist and up into my sleeve. What I get is a bloody mess rather than a blood orange. Thankfully, Spiderman to the rescue here. He peels my fruit  and tucks it safely into a wee Rubbermaid box so I can bring it to school for my snack. I’m like an over grown kindergarten child with a lunch box packed by my dear old dad. But, hey what ever works.

Spiderman does not share my rapturous desire for blood oranges. He prefers regular ones. More for me then. I love their taste and texture but also they are just a jolly good excuse to dust off the old thesaurus, ya know? And don’t be fooled if someone tries to sell you a blush orange. They are just a regular orange with a few streaks of red in them. Wait for the short season when real blood oranges are available and you won’t be sorry.

What food makes you reach for the thesaurus?