Out In Nature

I live close to a park where I live. A big park. So lately, I have been making an effort to get outside and explore nature. I don't bring my phone. I don't listen to music. I just walk. Or I jog. Or I ride a bicycle. But I tend to take my time. I enjoy the pleasant silence of the forest: the wind through the leaves of trees, the song of birds. I can still hear the traffic of the city, but it is distant; a far-off dream. I can leave civilization relatively behind.

Being outside, even in a park, is a re-connection to our place in the world. To unplug and be still is like recharging my spiritual batteries. It reminds me that I am a part of the Earth; just another life-form here in this perfect balance that supports and sustains everything we do.

Nature calms me. It brings me peace of mind. It reminds me to slow down and not take things too seriously. Out in nature everything is perfect and already here. I don't need to go looking for it.

Zen Things To Do

  1. Do one thing at a time.

  2. Do it slowly and deliberately.

  3. Do it completely.

  4. Do less.

  5. Put space between things.

  6. Develop rituals.

  7. Designate time for certain things.

  8. Devote time to sitting.

  9. Smile and serve others.

10. Make cooking and cleaning become meditation.

11. Think about what is necessary.

12. Live simply.

Do Less

One of the key principles of minimalism is "less is more".

Last year, I experimented with this by playing a minimalism game. I got rid of a lot of my material possessions, choosing to de-clutter my apartment but also to focus more on things I do instead of things I have. However this idea of "less is more" should also pertain to the things I do.

I used to have a big problem with over committing. I was a "yes person". In the past year I have gotten much better at saying no to things but it is something I still need to work on. Essentially, if I have less projects on my plate I can focus on one thing and really put all of my effort and passion into it. Instead of working on a huge list of books, I can focus on reading my current one and enjoy it much more. Instead of dreaming about all the different film projects I want to plan for, I can focus on my current one and make it the best it can be. Instead of looking forward to all the fun things I will do on the weekend, I can enjoy the present moment with the people I am with right now. Instead of checking email a hundred times a day, I can check it once in the morning and leave it alone until tomorrow.

Doing less changes our mindset on productivity as well. In today's society, we tend to put an emphasis on success by how much we achieve and get done. Workaholic and business are signs of highly effective people, but it is a trap. Constantly having things to do leads to more things. It never ends; a vicious cycle of "production". Instead, we can do less things and the few things we do can be far more effective by putting more passion into them.

What things are you doing that are distracting you from what you really want to do today? What future things are you looking forward to that are delaying your enjoyment of the present? How productive are you really being by committing to ten things today versus one thing?

We Are Consumers

Only a few people want us to be happy. Friends and family, mostly. The majority of people want us to be consumers. They need us to buy stuff to keep them going, to make them successful. This is an unfortunate reality in our society today. Most of us measure our success based on how much stuff we have, how expensive it is, and how we compare to everybody else. The economy is entirely built on how much money is being exchanged between corporations and governments.

It can be exhausting to get caught up in all of this. To constantly be trapped in the consumerist cycle of buying and selling and endlessly wanting more. Where does it end?

Instead of allowing us to be hounded into having more, I opt for settling for less. We don't need the newest phone, the best car, the biggest house, to see all the blockbusters, to have a faster computer, to get the biggest diamond ring. If we can settle and be content with what we have - right here, right now - then we can find that the essentials are easy to find, and relatively cheap: air, water, shelter, joy. The best things in life can't be bought or sold, but are experienced.

Comparing Your Life

Comparing our own lives to others often leads us to feelings of discontent, malaise, and wanting more. It makes us try to be someone else rather than accept ourselves for who we are. We try to change ourselves to be like those people we think are better, but really we are striving for an unrealistic ideal here.

We can't compare our lives to someone else because we can't possible know what their life is like.

a < b

If a = our life, and b = other person's life, can the above equation be true? Well, say we give our own life a value of 10 based on whatever factors there are (be it happiness, health, financial, whatever). We can't then come up with a value for someone else's life because it is an unknown.

10 < b

Is this a rational statement? Or what if we say someone else's life is worse than ours?

10 > b

Is this a correct statement? We can't compare an unknown value to a known value. It just doesn't work. So when we think someone else's life is better, they could be going through depression, or struggling financially, or experiencing similar feelings of discontent because they're comparing their selves with someone else too. Or if we judge someone as having a worse life, that person may be going through a hard time at this particular moment, or maybe they are perfectly content with their lives and we only think their life is worse because we have some pre-conceived idea that they need to have this wonderful thing we have or else they can't be happy.

Everyone in the world has such vastly individual experiences and yet we are so much the same in how we worry about how we stack up against the others. Rather than compare myself, I try to let things be the way they are and just be content.

Greece's Debt Crisis

There is a lot in the news lately about Greece's crazy debt crisis and rejecting more loans and the finance minister resigning and blah blah blah. I don't know that much about it (I don't keep up with news, but I heard this story from a co-worker who was very critical of Greece). However, it seems to me that we as a society put so much emphasis on nations as debt collectors. Greece owes Germany money, Canada owes Australia, America owes Britain, etc., etc. Every nation has debt; the world has debt. 

It feels like we are measuring a country's worth by its financial standing far more than any other criteria. I don't know much about living in foreign countries, including Greece, but there must be some good quality about their culture that we can appreciate rather than focus on the negative connotations of a failing economic system.

I see us do the same thing with individual people too. We judge our friends and colleagues by their salary, the car they drive, the house they own, and what clothes they wear rather than what kind of person they are, what they contribute to the community, how they treat others, or what their attitude is like.

I leave you today with some lyrics from Enter Shikari that I think apply to this situation:

Now I don’t know about you, but

I don’t think…

the primary purpose of your life, of my life,

and the entirety of the human race

Is just to blindly consume to support a failing economy and a faulty system

For ever and ever

Until we run out of every resource

And have to resort to blowing each other up to ensure our own survival.

I don’t think…

We’re supposed to sit by idle

While we continue to use a long outdated system

That produces war, poverty, collusion, corruption,

Ruins our environment and threatens every aspect of our health,

And does nothing but divide and segregate us,

I don’t think…

How much military equipment we’re selling to other countries,

How many hydrocarbons we’re burning,

How much money is being printed and exchanged

Is a good measure of how healthy our society is.

But I do think…

I can speak for everyone when I say…

We’re sick of this shit.

Treefingers

I listened to great song today from Radiohead called Treefingers. I've been on a musical journey these past few weeks, listening to Radiohead's catalogue album by album and I am now on their fourth album, Kid A. This particular track (Treefingers) is a very ambient meditative instrumental. It's one I have always been particularly fond of.

Since my practice of meditation and interest in Zen has become a bigger part of my life, I can feel an even bigger connection to this beautiful piece of music. As I listened to it today, I simply walked outside and felt at peace. I noticed how my body felt, each step I took, the feel of the sun on my face. It was nice. I can do this without music though.

I think it is a good practice to be with ourselves under simple circumstances. Outside, simply walking and doing nothing else. Drinking tea or eating a healthy snack without the TV on. Listening to this extremely minimalist song is also a simple act; it is the antithesis to what a lot of music seems to be these days: attention-grabbing. 

Give Treefingers a listen and bask in it's simple rhythm.