Personal Reflections « The Ramblings of An Eternal Student of Life

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Personal Reflections ... Politics ...

I’ve been following the rise and fall of New Jersey Governor Christopher Christie with particular interest. Chris Christie wouldn’t know me from Adam, but “big Chris” has been a part of my life for the past 4 or 5 years now.

It all goes back to 2008, when Christie was still the US Attorney for New Jersey. Big Chris had made a name for himself through a series of political corruption prosecutions, nailing a variety of local officials in Northern NJ for putting their hands out (often for a petty thousand or two). He started making noises about getting back into politics (he had previously been a Freeholder in Morris County under the Republican brand), by running against incumbent Governor John Corzine in the 2009 election. The State GOP eventually went along with him, and he made a spirited campaign against Corzine, who by then seemed bored and unenthusiastic about bare-knuckled New Jersey politics.

The well-off Corzine hoped that he could walk to a re-election by outspending Christie, but the local urban machines decided to » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 3:14 pm Read Comments (2) / Leave a Comment

Saturday, December 21, 2013

◊ Sweat the Little Things

Personal Reflections ... Zen ...

There’s a nice article in The Atlantic about John Kerry’s term as Secretary of State. The former Senator is really out there trying to change the world. Even as a 70 year old, he can still stay up all night when in the thick of an important negotiation. He’s living a life all about big things.

Life for most of us, by comparison, is about little things. When young, I dreamed of being involved in big, momentous, world-shaking causes. Things that you read about or see in the movies – Lincoln, Obama, the great explorers, great scientists, great writers, great lovers, great artists, the people with passion and vision, people living with a drive and a goal. These are people who somehow found their way into some big cause (or were found by some big cause) that sucked up their day-to-day life, and in return amplified the feeling of being alive for them.

As to the rest of us – well, as to me, anyway — I never come across a big compelling mission or cause in life comparable to what Mr. Kerry now deals with. My life is mostly a case of making the best of little things, making the best of » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 11:29 pm Read Comments (3) / Leave a Comment

Monday, December 2, 2013

◊ A Season of Denial

Personal Reflections ... Photo ...

Another Christmas season is underway; the decorations and shopping rituals start so early these days! And at the same time, the shadows grow long and the days grow short as another autumn turns to winter.

This is just a pic to keep us all humble, a pic in synch with the real spirit of the season. To everything there is a season . . . and a truly joyful season will yet return. But for now, as joyful non-religious, quasi-Christmas music fills the land, it’s mostly a season of denial.

◊ posted by Jim G @ 4:34 pm Read Comments (2) / Leave a Comment

Thursday, October 31, 2013

◊ Halloween, Celebration of Impermananence

Personal Reflections ... Photo ...

Ah, Halloween, that secular celebration of impermanence. People in my town do up their lawns will all sorts of cheery things like mock tombstones and skeletons. It’s mostly for the kids of course, a celebration of “spookiness”; a reflection on the return of early darkness, sunset shadows, long nights and cold weather. That the decorations relate to human decay and death is irrelevant to them; they are young, and they are going to survive every winter and live forever. At worst, they might need to ponder the possibility of tooth impermanence from all the trick-or-treat candy.

For us adults, however, especially those like me pushing past the 60 marker, it’s not a game anymore. Impermanence is staring us in the face. The Buddha said that “all conditioned things are impermanent — when one sees this with wisdom, one turns away from suffering”. So, the Buddha with all his wisdom could walk the streets of my town in late October with perfect equanimity; the skeletons, spiders and black cats wouldn’t bother him in the least. (And who knows, with his yellow monk robes and begging bowl as a “costume”, someone might give him some Halloween candy!) For the rest of us . . . oh well, just keep whistling past the mock graveyards. And Happy Halloween!

◊ posted by Jim G @ 8:37 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Friday, October 18, 2013

◊ Camp Dhammapadda

Personal Reflections ... Spirituality ...

I’m in something of a bloggers rut right now. Just can’t think of anything all that interesting that I’ve read or seen or heard or thought about over the past week that I need to share with the world. So I’m just going to share a silly thought that I had this morning while brushing my teeth.

Over the past few days I’ve been reading some early Buddhist scriptures, trying to get a better feel for what Buddhism is really all about. Well, as with most big religious traditions, there really is no one “Buddhism” to get a feel for. What I’m trying to do is get as close as possible to what the Buddha himself was trying to sell to humankind. Over the past 15 years I’ve read any number of books, articles and web sites about Buddhism, and in my Zen practice I hear weekly lectures about it. And yet, if you were to stop me after all this and ask me to explain Buddhism and the arguments for following the Buddha’s teachings, I’d be darned if I could give you a good answer. Part of that, I suppose, is that I never really convinced myself to become a modern-day disciple of “Shakyamuni”, as the in-crowd likes to call him.

So, despite all my exposure to Buddhism, I’m not a Buddhist. Why not? Well, to answer that question, I’d have to finally get a grasp on » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 10:14 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Saturday, October 12, 2013

◊ A Crocus in October

Personal Reflections ... Photo ...

It was a somewhat interesting day today. I got up early, as I usually do on Saturday, and after finishing my oatmeal I decided to drive over to the South Paterson Food Market, to pick up some fruits and veggies. As I have written before, I always enjoy going there; lots of different produce there for sale, great prices, and a very interesting mix of people (this isn’t your usual upper-income suburban farmers market, these are mostly working class people looking to get by). While driving up East Railway Avenue (where the markets and street bins are located) towards the parking lots, I saw a rainbow in the sky. Most interesting, given that it hadn’t been raining. The morning sun was shining thru some wispy clouds, and somehow a rainbow effect was created on the other end of the sky. Other people on the street stopped to look at it too.

Then, while inside of one of the stores getting a carton of soy milk (at least a $1 cheaper than in the local supermarket in Montclair), an old guy originally from South America started talking to me about what is wrong with this country. I wasn’t in any hurry, so I gave him some attention, and we stood there talking (mostly him talking and me listening) amidst the swirling crowd for about 20 minutes. I remember him saying that he was retired, and I guess that he just needed someone to chat with. Hey, glad to be there for him; I’m getting to be an old guy myself these days, and it ain’t always easy for me either to find friendly people to interact with.

Then I got home and stored away all the tomatoes and apples and onions and such. I decided to put on my running gear and take a half-hour jog, and when passing the front of my house, I noticed something tiny yet somewhat out of place. Was that a crocus blooming near the sidewalk, in the middle of October? A sign of spring, just as the cold winds get ready to blow and the leaves start to fall? Well, after I finished my run, I got my camera out, as to share this nice little surprise with the world. Not a bad Saturday; cheap food, a morning rainbow, an interesting old guy, and a crocus in October. A good omen for us old guys facing the autumn of our own lives? Hey, I’ll take it! [Ironically in a good way, it is early spring right now where my food store conversation partner came from . . . perhaps crocuses are also blooming in the town or village where he came from!]

◊ posted by Jim G @ 4:21 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Sunday, October 6, 2013

◊ Too Old To Rock n’ Roll . . .

Music ... Personal Reflections ...

My brother and I started a new family tradition about a year or so ago; just about every Friday night at 8, we gather ’round a TV and tune into VH1 Classic, to watch a re-run of That Metal Show. For those of you who may not be fans of metal and classic hard rock music, That Metal Show is hosted by Eddie Trunk, a fellow from New Jersey who gained a reputation over the past decade or two as a DJ, VJ, author and impresario about metal bands and their music. Actually, Eddie takes an expansive view of metal so as to acknowledge most any band, old or new, that delivers pure, hard-edged “heavy” rock music, whether “metallic” or not (he also includes Rush and Bon Jovi and John Mellencamp in his circle, despite their tendency to focus more on ballads and story-telling). He’s something of a still-young-looking fellow in his late 40’s, but Mr. Trunk nonetheless pays much attention and tribute to the now-graying musicians who opened up the metal and hard rock scene in the 1970s. (He’s also not at all what you might expect, personality-wise; Eddie Trunk comes across on TV as an extremely pleasant character, a bit rotund and generally harmless looking, a slightly matured version of the good kid from high school who just happened to play lots of Sabbath and Kiss and Priest and Iron Maiden and Deep Purple on his I-Pod between classes and after finishing his homework.)

So, my brother and I usually find ourselves on Friday watching Eddie and his two sidekicks (comedians Jim Florentine and Don Jaimison) interview various rock performers. Eddie’s show is in the classic talk-show format, although there is usually a “musical” guest who will jam a few guitar riffs or a quick drum solo just before a commercial break. What is interesting is that almost none of Eddie’s guests are “spring chickens”. That Metal Show is not for the cutting-edge acts of today like Nickleback or Halestorm or Papa Roach. While many Metal Show guests are still in pretty good shape in their 40’s and 50’s, some of them are way past their prime (such as Lemmy from Motorhead). Eddie also spends a fair amount of time keeping up on what is happening or had happened to the earliest, most venerable bands — and what is happening to them generally is old age and death. Some of these bands, such as Deep Purple, still record and perform, but many or most of the original members are now retired or dying or dead (e.g. John Lord of Purple). It’s not that unusual for Eddie to wish someone to get better after a bout with cancer.

Friday night is generally a time to kick back after a tough week at work, so I tend not to philosophize too much. But still, I can’t help but ponder the irony » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 6:34 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Saturday, July 6, 2013

◊ Fruit Fly Wars

Personal Reflections ... Practical Advice ...

Today I’m going to take a break from my usual attempts to grasp at issues of cosmic significance [mostly unsuccessfully]. I’m going to get down to some nitty gritty, for a change. Today I’m going to talk about fruit flies, and what to do when they infest your home. I’ve been dealing with these nasty little buggers for the past 3 or 4 years now, without much luck in reducing their hordes. In the winter they slack off somewhat, but summer is a halcyon time for the fruit fly nation. Once they take root in your home, you can look forward to constantly seeing them buzzing around you, oblivious to your futile swats (they are amazingly fast and agile fliers). And even if you do get lucky and managed to squash one, there are hundreds or thousands left out there, all working towards the ultimate fruit fly destiny of world domination. (What was especially unsettling was when I would look at the ceiling above my bed just before I turned out the light; it was often speckled with waiting fruit flies, obviously lying in wait as to make a meal out of my own flesh and blood!) I was ready to give in to despair, as I didn’t want to take radical measures like smogging my apartment with some really noxious poison spray, or paying an exterminating service to do that.

But over the past few months I’ve made progress in at least keeping this vermin community under control. It’s almost mid-July and we’re into the hottest part of summer; and yet, I’ve only been seeing a handful of these critters lately (and I haven’t seen the nocturnal ceiling congregation so far this year). So here’s what I can tell you about fruit flies and keeping them in check.

There seem to be web sites dedicated to almost everything these days, and fruit files are no exception. Not surprisingly, the fruit fly site is called www.fruitflies.org. It is a good place to start, in order to get to know your enemy. Fruit files are sexual creatures, as they » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 3:25 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Sunday, June 23, 2013

◊ Urban Burn Out, and Beyond

Personal Reflections ... Public Policy ...

I spent over 11 years of my life working for an organization whose mission was (and still is) to improve the lives of families and people living in the economically poor communities of a run-down Eastern city. The families and people living in these communities are mostly “people of color”, largely African-American but also some Hispanic and Carribean-Afro heritage mixed in. As a younger man, I wanted to devote at least some portion of my life and its energies into changing the world, fighting injustices, and “making real” the religious beliefs and values that my parents had instilled within me. (Obviously I felt that they hadn’t done such a great job of realizing and living these beliefs, and that I could do much better than they did).

That all came to an end over a decade ago. Since then I’ve remained in the same city, career-wise, but have shifted my career efforts to a major law-enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the communities that I had previously hoped to help “save”. Recently I asked myself, how much have I changed over the course of these two career terms? Why don’t I feel the same drive and excitement towards the notion of “saving the poor” anymore? Can the poor in question actually “be saved”?

As with many young people of a religious and politically liberal background, I once believed that the undesirable social and economic conditions generally experienced by black and Hispanic people within depressed urban neighborhoods » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 2:05 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Monday, June 3, 2013

◊ All of Me and My Junk

Personal Reflections ...

In my last blog entry, I talked about the fact that we live our daily lives with a generally hazy and limited memory of what went on in our past. We think we know our histories and could tell our story at most any time, but actually, we’ve already forgotten quite a bit of it, perhaps most of it. Obviously this gets worse as you get older. What also gets worse with age, for me anyway, is the instinct to be a junk hoarder. I’m one of those people who have a hard time throwing old stuff out, even when its no longer useful. And this is largely because I know that my past life is fading away, and I’m trying to hold on to it by piling up as many keepsakes and reminders of what my life was like say 10 or 25 years ago. In effect, I’m trying to curate a museum collection dedicated to the life and times of yours truly.

It’s interesting how different people have different philosophies on this. Some people like to sweep the decks and throw out anything that is no longer immediately useful. They like to live light, with no excess baggage, no sentimental (or possibly painful) reminders of what once concerned them in their comings and goings. Maybe they keep a small scrapbook, a few pictures, an important letter or two, a college and high-school yearbook, but otherwise, everything must go. Others hoard all sorts of broken contraptions that once were part of their daily life, old clothes that are ripped or out of fashion, papers from work places that they left 15 years ago, childhood toys, etc. Some experts say that it is a public health issue!

I’m a bit on the “hoarder” side, having saved much junk that I hardly ever look at but don’t want to get rid of (and have trouble finding room to store). There is some argument that an old checking statement or pay stub may someday be needed, or » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 12:20 pm Read Comments (2) / Leave a Comment

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