Parents are junkies: Along with most everyone else

It seems as though Shankar Vedantam of Slate is first discovering that which Buddha warned about long ago.  Parents are junkies - just like all other non-enlightened beings.

Define junkie?  Vedantam does:  We have a name for people who pursue rare moments of bliss at the expense of their wallets and their social and professional relationships:  addicts.

Buddha’s definition was a bit more verbose. What is commonly referred to as Buddha’s Four Noble Truths goes something like this:  There is almost universal suffering; it arises from clinging, craving (attachment); it abates with letting-go (the liberation of non-attachment); liberation is accompanied by rightful living (which includes understanding of the first three Noble Truths, mindfulness, meditation, plus an ethical lifestyle).

It’s no wonder that what began as just AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) - has now proliferated into NA(Narcotics Anonymous), OA (Overeaters Anonymous), WA (Workaholics Anonymous), and a host of other such groups.  Perhaps soon, thanks to Vedantam, the already-existing PA (Parents Anonymous) will need to broaden its scope to include not just some parents, but all parents.

Truth be told (which was one of Buddha’s favorite pastimes), humans seem hard-wired for addictions of all kinds.  Check the media. Check the schools.  Check the mini-marts.  Check the maxi-marts.  And yes, check the all-too-often “opiate of the masses” worship centers.

Buddha’s “cure” is summarized within his Eightfold Path.  According to Religioustolerance.org, this Path consists of right understanding, right thinking, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right meditation.

Seems a bit more encompassing than birth control…

Resources

http://www.slate.com/id/2274721/#return

http://www.religioustolerance.org/buddhism1.htmPa

Johnny Cash: Gospel or die

It is quite fitting that Johnny Cash will be one of those inducted into the GMA Gospel Music Hall of Fame in January 2011 - since it is most likely Gospel which kept him alive for years.

Wikipedia partially defines “Gospel” as “music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life…  a common theme of most gospel music is praise, worship, or thanks to God, Christ, or the Holy Spirit.”

Cash certainly had much to be thankful for.  However, it hadn’t always seemed that way.  According to the Official Johnny Cash website, John R. grew up picking cotton alongside his family in the fields of Arkansas.  As a young adult, he worked for a Michigan automotive company before joining the U.S. Air Force.  All the while, he was also trying to make it as a musician.

Although Sun Records had other plans for Cash’s earliest recordings, Gospel was his first love.  This was a love born from a personal need to figure out his place in the cosmos.  When John was just 12, his beloved brother was sliced to death by a mill saw.  That’s the kind of experience that stays with a sensitive soul forever.

Much later in life, Cash’s abuse of drugs almost culminated in suicidal death.  It was a spiritual awakening that saved him.  After passing out on the floor of Nickajack Cave, Cash awoke with the feeling of God in his heart.  He was safely led from the cave by a faint light and breeze that seemed divine in origin.

John R. Cash was then ready to marry the love of his life, June Carter.  After her death, and shortly before his own, he spoke of their ongoing connection “somewhere between here and heaven.”

Resources

http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx?news=611579&GT1=28102

http://www.gmahalloffame.org/site/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Cash

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_music

http://www.johnnycash.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Arde9psKcYY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekG9uCeTvC4

If life is a Carnival, most are below deck

While headlines touted the bravery of Carnival Splendor passengers who spent three whole days eating cold food – articles about Haiti’s cholera epidemic were juggled aside.

According to the Associated Press, Carnival passengers endured the hardships of “no air conditioning, no hot food, no hot water, and no casino…”  Birthdays were ruined, swimming pools were off limits, and darkness followed sunsets.  When prayer did not immediately remedy this situation, people turned to warm beer and magic tricks for solace.

Meanwhile in Haiti, most have had “no access to clean water” for months.  According to AolNews, Haiti’s cholera death toll has now exceeded 900.  Many of the refugees from Haiti’s January 2010 earthquake are still “forced to eat raw food or cook communally on open fires, sharing utensils that could spread germs.”

Back in 1906, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto saw this coming.  He astutely calculated that 80% of the “goodies” were to be had by only 20% of the corresponding populations.  This not only applied to the Italian landowners of his time, but even to the peas in his garden.  Pareto noticed that a whopping 80% of these peas were concentrated within a paltry 20% of these pods.

Today’s world economy remains grossly inequitable.  Worldwatch Institute reports that “as many as 2.8 billion people on the planet struggle to survive on less than $2 per day, and more than one billion people

lack reasonable access to safe drinking water.”  On the other hand, “an estimated 65% of U.S. adults are overweight or obese…”

The AP quoted a Carnival passenger as saying:  If you could see the things they put on sandwiches,

seriously, this could be the only cruise ever where people lost weight instead of gaining weight.

Gratitude for the abundance inherent in that statement, as well as a willingness to share it with those less fortunate, is long overdue.  Perhaps prayers could then be offered for cholera-quenching water, as opposed to toilet-flushing water.

Resources

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2010/1111/Carnival-Splendor-finally-reaches-San-Diego-dock-passengers-begin-to-disembark

http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/haitis-cholera-death-toll-passes-900/19716546

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle

http://www.worldwatch.org/node/810#3