Magical Note of Compassion and other news

Listen to it here

While cycling the streets of cool East Village in the boiling New York City summer, I had to make way for a surly, growly, muttering, hard-nosed junky-nutter making his belligerent way across the street like some hell-bent alcoholic Taliban, determined on unpleasantness. Alarmed by his negativity I gave him a wide berth. 

Beyond him on the far side of the street were 4 emo NYU students, 3 girls and a guy. Only recently of this world and young enough to still know everything - just kids, just hanging. As I passed them I heard the girl closest the street, slightly separated from the herd, declare, tearfully, “He’s ruined my day”. Something about wanting to right an injustice popped in me. I looped around and cycled straight back to them. She backed away from me as I came closer, very cautious she was, once bitten twice shy for sure.

I halted and asked “I could not but overhear, did you say he ruined your day?” pointing at the Nutjob, who was at this point ruining a cyclist’s day further down the street.

“Yes” she said

“Totally” the rest exclaimed.

To which I cheerfully replied - “Well I am here to change that and reverse your unfortunate fortune. I have here a thing almost unique.”

And pulled from my pocket my wallet, and from my wallet a folded bill.

“I have here a –“ -  “2-dollar bill!” finished the lone male in the pack.

“Yes – it is and legal tender too. But see here, on it is stenciled the words ‘In Pursuit of Magic’. And you can have it. Hopefully it will make your day”

She, with dropping jaw, “Can I keep it?”

“Of course”, I said as I cycled off, “Changing the world one smile at a time…” and on my way I went. I’ve done this sort of gifting thing a few times and feel its best to give the gift and begone so the gift remains just exactly that, free from any other expectation or conversation. That they may just marvel at the arbitrary and funny nature of life’s vagaries and what comes from hanging on the streets of New York.

 

As I left they stared and laughed and I felt good for being a random act of kindness. Until I remembered what compassion is really about and that while my time was well spent with these few it would’ve been better spent had I given that magically transformed note and charitable action to the grumbler who is clearly in a far worse way and knoweth not the harm he does himself by harming others.

Yes of course such an attempt may’ve ended badly for me but this brings to mind the decisions we make in life. What we choose to do, the meaning we bring into our lives. The things we find worthwhile. One of the hardest things in life is not to be seen. To be ignored. Living in solitary confinement on the streets of the city. It is a brutal thing. Aside from execution, solitary confinement is the worst punishment our society can think up. So giving a person on the fringes of society time and attention serves us well in our own attempt to find equanimity with everything. Helping yourself by helping others...

 And on a completely different note here is some news... 

That all happened in NYC recently after my many weeks in Montauk. All of which were very well spent giving attention to words, waves and the steady stream of amazing folks that wander through one’s life.

But now, dear Reader – you find me in holed up bandit-like in Spearfish, South Dakota en route across the USA to LA via Burning Man. I have already aided in the digging up of a dinosaur bone, suffered a front differential leak, covered 2000 miles through 10 states (minor brushes with the law in 4 of them), broken ribs instead of bread with an old friend and her family, written love in light, run around Devil’s Tower and as soon as I send this I am off on a hike to who knows where but I bet I’ll see something exquisite in this pleasant land!

Devil's Tower (seen in Paul!)

Devil's Tower Up-close

Devil's Tower Close-up

Plastered up for transportation

Yes it’s been a dream of mine to drive across the States. And that’s the thing about dreams. If you have ‘em, it’s a great idea at some time to turn them into a reality. Then the Universe can do things to you far beyond your wildest imagination! 

Hey ho, let’s go… me, my Gherkmobile and an Octopus, In Pursuit of Magic! Go West Young Man. Go West. And a bit South…

Love and light

Octopus trying to get attention

Changing the World - One Smile at a Time

One Smile at a Time (that sounds like Once upon a time... good way to start this particular tale)

Read on or listen to it here.

I haven’t written a lot lately. And sometimes it has been said to me that I don’t seem to write that much ‘news’ about my life when I do. This time I will as it’s partially a mission statement.

Emotions are things that happen to us. They arise and either stay or go. I don’t choose to feel love, gratitude, jealousy etc. Either I do or I don’t in just the same way I never chose to like avocado’s more than capers but I do - oh so much. Thankfully one does have some ability to temper our responses to our emotions but we can’t control their occurrence within us.

I have a lot to be grateful for. And while reflecting on my day-to-day life recently, I was struck by the relative scarcity of spontaneous upwellings of the gratitude emotion within it. This bothers me. Why aren’t there more? Am I taking things for granted? Is it a ‘not so subtle’ consequence of an old pattern of always seeing the negative in a situation? Or a more subtle response to me trying to maximize or improve a situation and thereby not accepting the beauty inherent in the moment?

One manifestation of this is my apparent inability to consistently remember to give thanks before ingesting something. To say grace if you will. Such a simple thing to do and such a good reminder of Gratitude but I just forget and forget again while rushing ahead to scoff the wares in front of me.

But when I think of people smiling out there in the world because of something I did then I do feel good and grateful.

So I can conclude that I’d like to positively affect the lives of people - ideally in fairly large numbers. And that means putting a smile on the faces of a lot of people I don’t know.

It is generally easy to make someone smile. Smiles are free so for the most part people are quick to offer them. Yes, there are false smiles and folks smile while confused or upset or just to be polite. All of that is fine. It’s not for me to reason why – I just get a warm fuzzy whenever I do make someone smile.

To succeed in entrepeneurship one has to sell or provide a product to many people one has never met, never will meet and barely have anything in common with. Similarly I want to create the hope in my life that I have added a smile to the dial of many-a-folk I just won’t ever know.

To do this I have to increase my creative output and acquire a broader audience through a product. I have actually met each of you that I mailed this to. Please don’t begrudge a desire to go broader and send missives into the further reaches of wider humanity so that I can believe that I have caused many more smiles than I know about. And as a result feel good myself!

Here is what I am doing. Taking time off from doing VFX on movies in order to write more.

I am in Montauk on the Eastern tip of Long Island, New York State. I have rented a 3-bedroom house with friends Warwick, Patricia, Darren and Deia plus their kids Zoe and Leon. They’re largely there on weekends and I’m largely there all the time. I will be here for most of the summer, ending it by driving across the USA to Burning Man. 

My hope is to spend a lot of time writing, some time surfing and a bit of NO-thing.

I’m planning a routine in order to provide some structure so I don’t treat it purely as a holiday. Also life is what happens to you while you’re busy making plans. So make lots!

 

Here's the routine:

* Breach the surface of this world from the Ocean of Slumber

* Write my free-flow, mind clearing, dream-catching Morning Pages

* Stand on my spiky Veda mat to invigorate and aid a rapid awakening

* Meditate purely on my breath and the sensations present in my body

* Do a spot of Neuro-linguistic programming in the form of ‘Recycling’

* Handwrite the acquired set of positive affirmations into my visual diary.

* Sacrifice something to the great Stomach we all live to serve

* Do some exercise. 

* Write, write, write

* Then and only then check my email before writing again.

And if I’ve been really good… then I can check the cricket scores.

Those images are 3 consecutive days from my meditation rock - varied!

I’ve mined a lot of experiential ore over the years. Now is the time to smelt it and extract the precious bits so that something of delight and use can be made and shared with the world.

Man has long yearned to turn base metal into gold, so I’m seeking to turn base experience into literature. Drawing it from myself may prove tricky with all the distractions modern and traditional I allow into my life. I hope I do. This is an honest attempt at providing meaning to my existence.

It’s taking aim at it being a book. My working title - the same as my blog - Mountains & Valleys. Doctor Lobster’s Practical Guide to Equilibrium in the Innerverse. 

It has a fable part, a theory part and an appendix of fun and challenges. Maybe.

And even if it all ends up the literary equivalent of karaoke at least I will have given myself the opportunity to live life and do more of what I’ve said I wanted to do. 

Much Love

Doctor Lobster

If you’re gonna be a cowboy, ride the waves and cross the states, you gotta have a horse so to aid my quest I’ve joined the dark green sexy car brigade ala David, Jonty and Domenique. Huzzah!

Hot Grass Buns

Another year but not another place. Still in the Big Apple, still suffering the ignominy of a 2 not 4-day Easter Weekend. By planning ahead this year, I was able to eat the buns of delight at work for breakfast so did not spend the day fearing for my immortal soul. My single strand of potential ascendance to dogma heaven continues albeit as tenuous as ever. And here they are … this time I bought a bunch so I could do some valuable missionary work with the locals, a heathen lot – many had never had one in their lives!

Other folk’s traditions often look pretty good but really I think this is a lot to do with the grass being greener on the other side.

Yet isn’t that phrase just meant to make us happy with our lot, no matter what it’s state? Look down, look around, what is the state of your patch? Lush and full, or sketchy and dry, overgrown, out of control, filled with weeds or stones. Chances are it needs some tending. Looks great? Maintenance is still required! And by tending I mean spending good old quality time, digging in the dirt of your life because that is what this is really about.

Fingers in, kneading the soils that provide for the roots of your joys. You may find a lot of hard things, sticks and stones and all the names people have called you! They’ll need removing so the lawn can grow evenly, each root able to find its way to the blades they support immediately above

Its ok to leave the fun and curious things, a mushroom or little wild flower are great but if something will pervade and takeover - it should go.

And if you don’t then the phrase is likely to also lose all meaning… if your grass ain’t green then why would the neighbor think it is!

Here in New York I only have 2 trays printed to look like grass... Here is a pic of me lovingly laying a lawn I once had. It is an old picture and reminds me of the joy of tending one’s grass. Do it while you still have it, before the last Sparrow flies.

Also you never know when a butterfly might flutterby and charmed by the state of the place alight for a beat. And in that beat they may find another and leave you some Easter eggs of the caterpillar kind… meet Stripe, a butterfly baby.

Just as he thought his whole life was coming to an end, he turned into a Schmetterling.

    

         

It is extraordinary how fast things can change but I no longer consider the Medieval Wheel of Fortune an accurate model. Yes Fate is blind and She’ll spin you a merry dance but I do believe the Sun can rise on one man without having to set on any other. Even if we aren’t truly free, we have to act as if we are! We can live in abundance, take down the fence, let our grasses grow as One.

Love and Light

Click on this to listen rather than read!

Slither-Me-Timbers

10 Feb - Year of the Snake

After the calm of the Rabbit came the ecstatic flight of the Dragon. From that great height you surveyed the world and its horizon of wondrous mountains. And well you did to set your aspirations on them.

But between there and the now stretches the Valley of the Snake.

Remember where those distant Ranges lay, as one danger after another opportunity will rise, challenging you to keep your focus necessarily near. Stay low to the floor. The closer you are to the pulse in your gut the easier you’ll know your path.

Change is coming, so seek planning permission for character building. Make it solid and worthwhile, helm over, rudder on its way, the creak as the ship of your life begins to shift course. No going back mehearties… that old skin wont fit anymore.

A good year for a new perspective… lower your gaze, shorten your stride… doubt not. Wriggle and writhe… Internal growth through external change.

Much love

Doctor Lobster

Previous years:

As Fresh As Dragon Breath
Hoppity-Hop
RRR-Miaow
Oxen-HO!
Rat-a-tat
Wallowing in it
Woof Hey

Cock-a-doodle-do
Monkey-man