today the professor of roman art said, 'we live better than any people in history.' deja vu! almost fifty years ago a professor of anthropology at san francisco state said, 'we live better than any king before 1900.'
how strange that we discount our physical existence, putting all our problems down to the metaphysical. feng sui taught the chinese how you lay out your house, how you form your cities, determines much of how you feel and the decisions you make.
as i've said before, the one component true to all forms of bliss is feeling good in your own body. this leads to sex (children), drugs (the recovery of childhood), fancy houses (the womb), and so on.
yet we wish to believe ourselves above circumstances, as though we were gods who can't be affected by floods, famine, or a simple change in the weather.
for compelling evidence, read 'night' by elie weisel. i listened to a recording on my way back from san franciso and the dentist. the rapidity with which the jewish villagers transformed into concentration inmates makes the head spin. the loss of everything familiar: family, hair, clothes, dinners around the table, time at the temple and total disruption of a universe can only be imagined.
for me, spring is a time of utter transformation. suddenly, i feel like a different person. and i think, 'where have i been these past few months?' the deprivation of light, the cold, body's tenseness, they separate me from how i feel at my best.
what i am saying is: don't discount your vulnerability to circumstances. give them a shape with the well-being of yourself and everyone around you in mind.
here's a little vision of such a paradise, even with the wind blowing furiously:
and prozac has done more for keeping me from suicide than all the best wishes of gurus worldwide.
