I've always been a guy that looked to the West for inspiration - sunsets, expansive Western U.S. ideals, making my home on Erie's West side, but for some reason today I have been inspired to face east. I've been facing the sun as it makes its upward arc - and it is treating me right. I'm also now induldging in some of this killer green tee with rice in the mix that Dr. Dee dropped by last Friday. So maybe that's helping me get my Eastern motif on. I wonder if this is a new way of living.
Cheers.
Ralph
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I am the opposite. I'm from the East side of Erie, I went to East High (the motto of our class was "rise with the sun in '81"), and I've followed an Eastern, buddhist, taoist path, mostly through Joseph Campbell.
I often struggle with Western ideals, especially the predominant notion that each of us is separate from others. Now, I understand that each of us is unique, as there is nobody exactly the same as you living in your space at this moment. I get that.
However, the notion that we are somehow completely autonomous individuals acting always on our own behalf is, at best, short sighted.
I'm too deep into the laws of karma and spiritualty to think for one second that any human is a "self-made man." We all have helping hands throughout our journeys on Earth, and those hands belong to those who have come before.
Ancestor worship is a concept that, while known in the West, is not always celebrated as it should be. Yes, we visit graves at Memorial Day, but do our children really understand that fact that the spirits who came before--grandparents and great grandparents--are the ones who have typically paved the way for our success.
Also: I think it's interesting how Erie itself is representative of the East/West dichotomy. East siders grow up to join unions--collectives--at Hammermill and GE, while West siders grow up to be doctors and lawyers--individuals.
And while I realize this is not always the case, the pattern has held sway in this town for some time.
Time to sign off.
DDDDDDDdd
Good thoughts on the East-West dichtomy. I must say the Eastern sun and facing east strategy, seems to have done wonders for my stomach, if in regards to just discussing the problem with other people. Definitely not someting unique. The bland diet and removal of alchohol from my regime seems be settling things...
Cheers. Well, without the beers.
Ralph
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