22.4.11

What am I doing for Earth Day? Zazen!

I get the thing about Earth day.
I used to be really into it too.
Then life happened.

I tell my wife not to buy those plastic bottles of water.
But for her, filling a stainless steel water bottle from the britta water purifier is too much work...

But earth-day has not been about that.  We might think it is.
But that kind of thinking is about the same as that guy burning korans down in Florida.
The "I am morally right in my own mind so therefor you should do as I say because it is good for you and the planet!"
It is not going to convince someone like my wife to do the right thing.
Heck, I can't even get her to stop getting plastic bags even though I have given her enough of those pretty recycled ones for two families shopping excursions.

Earth day is about inspiring those engineers and scientists who make all the crap we use a little better.
Or at least a little less toxic to the planet.   Or making it profitable to recycle by having stores charge for bags, or just not offer anything but the canvas ones.

I am not much of an environmentalist type.  But I do think I have some common sense.  Until we make it profitable and easy for folks to do the right thing.  Earth day is just another  holiday that I don't get a day off for, and wont do much to celebrate other than lament over the stuff I see in my garbage can.

I am opening the house for Zazen today.  the schedule is as follows:

0930- Introduction and Instructions for sitting and Zen hall etiquette
1000- Zazen
1030- Kinhin
1040- Zazen
1110- If you show up, we'll talk about practice, the dharma (not two) 


This schedual will repeat untill I depart with the 31st MEU on the Summer Patrol.







5 comments:

Carol said...

I've always said that recycling won't happen until it becomes profitable!
Loved the phone call! Love U!
Mom

SlowZen said...

Hi Mom,
Indeed. Sad but true.
Love,
Jordan

oxeye said...

Hi Jordan: I'm not much of an environmentalist either but I love my dog.

MyoChi said...

LOL..loved the comment about filling water bottles being too much work for your wife..I can see how that is..LOL. Anyhow, nice to be able to come and read your blog after a long time..yeah, life happened to me also..:)I really hope to be able to blog myself and read other folks blogs a little more regularly..how have you been dharma brother?

SlowZen said...

Hi Jeff,
I used to have a Dog Buddha statue.

MyoChi,
Good to here from you stranger. Welcome back to the WWW.

I have been deficient in my troop to task ratio for about the last year and a half. So my own blogging has been pretty light too!

Thanks for looking!