So it’s a little more than halfway through my mustache growing adventure. My wife Alex pointed out the other day that I’m starting to look like my dad. I’ve always more closely resembled my Mother’s side of the family, but now that I have the Dad-stache, I’m starting to see the patriarchal resemblance.
Halfway through Movember, and I've got half-a-'stache
Consequently this has all stirred up a bunch of weird feelings about fatherhood. I’m monitoring myself more closely with my son now. Am I acting like my dad did? Am I going to be the same type of parent that he was/is? Am I instilling the same values as he did? Do I still hold those same values? Am I just a product of my father’s influence?
Ugh. All this because of a silly mustache. Cheers.
There is still time to donate to our cause. For all the info check here. To donate to our cause, head here.
I stayed home from work Thursday and Friday. I’ve felt like crap. Actually, I’ve felt like I ate glass, and it’s refusing to make its way through my digestive system. These pains come and go, but are most intense when I stand. Seems like an odd thing to share with the world, and most unusual for me to post as well. But it’s how I’ve been dealing with it that I’d like to share.
Sometimes, it gets the best of me, and I wince. I cry out or grunt a little. But what I’ve been focusing on doing is when the pain comes, to just let it be pain, and then pass. I’ve been mildly successful in doing this, but when I am able to let the pain just be pain, I’ve found that I can continue on with what I was working on, and then not dwell on it.
For me, this is an important step in my new Buddhist “process”. I’m able to notice when I form attachments, and I’m able to attempt to let phenomenon just happen in the moment. I’m becoming more mindful of myself and my enviroment.
That’s all. Sometimes, I just post to hear myself type. Cheers.
We all have something that digs at us,
At least we dig each other
So when weakness turns my ego up
I know you’ll count on the me from yesterday
If I turn into another
Dig me up from under what is covering
The better part of me
I didn’t at first pay much attention to these lyrics by Incubus, and then just a couple of lines jumped out at me the other day. “So when weakness turns my ego up, I know you’ll count on the me from yesterday“. What a lesson in impermanence. Sometimes we do seem to change from day-to-day (because we do). I’m not the same person now that I was before I started writing this post. It has already changed my perspective, my experiences, even my body. We may change in the eyes of others from one meeting to the next, but we hardly notice these subtle changes in ourselves.
If I have a bad day, someone might wonder “what happened to the Adam that I know?” And their point is actually more valid than they realize. What did happen to that aspect of me that seems so lost now? “If I turn into another, Dig me up from under what is covering, The better part of me” This is what the quest of Buddhism is all about. We won’t find our Buddha nature outside ourselves. It’s right there inside, covered up with attachments, delusions, and whatever else Samsara happens to throw our way.
Of course, I don’t think Brandon Boyd was singing about his Buddha nature, but he does subtly touch on one point I feel is important; it’s that he’s asking for help. He needs for that person that he cares about to help him uncover his better self. I think it would be very hard to simply go it alone in Buddhism. I’m not knocking people who practice at home or anything. What I’m talking about is the help we receive from our sanghas (online or in person or whatever). It’s in our blog discussions, in our in-person meetings that we get help from others in getting through to our Buddha nature. We might not even notice it at the time; but when we discuss the dharma, even in passing, we are helping each other on our path to enlightenment. So keep the posts and the comments coming bloggers. Keep broadcasting podcasters. Keep teaching the dharma venerable masters. Keep discussing the sutras over teas and biscuits sanghas. It’s helping us all dig at the better part of us. Cheers.
The versatility of the Mullet is greatly underestimated.......
Well, I’ve done it. I’ve shaved off every hair on my head besides my unibrow, all in the name of fighting cancer. On the night before Halloween I decided to shave a mullet into my hair, give my sideburns a touch of white trash, and generally rock out the trailer park look (my mom lived in a trailer park, so it wasn’t too hard). It was fun, got a lot of double-takes, and a lot of laughs which is what I was going for. Lots of homebrews, mead and smoked salmon were devoured, and we all had a great time. My brother and sister-in-law have a Fall Harvest party every year for all of us to indulge our pagan selves, and this year was no disappointment. Then on Halloween we took the little one out and he scored Mom and Dad plenty of candy (he’s only 10 months old) and had a ton of fun.
Now, however, I’m left with a bald head and face. I’ve only ever shaved off my goatee at most 10 times since I was 15. My goatee is a part of me. It’s my Burt Reynold’s ’stache, it’s my gap in Madonna’s teeth. So the prospect of not having it for a month actually has been fairly jarring. I’m basically going to be completely uncomfortable with my face for a whole month. I’m going to be self-conscious of the ugly, patchy ’stache that will eventually grow in about week 3 or so. I’m going to keep feeling my chin for my goat and realize there is nothing there anymore. This is going to be friggin weird.
Suddenly, this “grow a ’stache for cancer” thing has turned into a month-long lesson in ego, in self, in attachment, and impermanence. And it seemed like such a silly little thing that shouldn’t matter at all. But I suppose this is my new perspective, my new lens. Things that were once simple have become much more complex, all so that I can see how simple (yet profound) they really are. Cheers.
I'm bringin' back the bald.......
Life has been pretty good this last week. I got my bonus at work, I was asked to collaborate on a pretty awesome interweb project, I’ve gotten some more people and $$$ for my mustache team, my wife was offered free CNA training and job, my Buddhist practice is starting to feel a bit more normal and natural, and my son is really starting to act like a little boy now. And then last night, I got a ticket. A car was stopped turning left into a smoke shop, and I (along with the 3 cars in front of me and a bunch of cars behind me) passed the car on the right shoulder to get around him and keep things moving. Apparently, that’s illegal here in WA. I had been told otherwise, and just thought I should follow the flow of traffic. The Sheriff, however, had a different idea. He pulled me and the two cars in front of me over and issued us all tickets for $124. So how’s life now?
Still fuckin
g great! Didn’t you hear me list all of that stuff up at the top? This is what Buddhism has done for me. It has allowed me to deal with the shit that samsara throws at me and move on. Sometimes, it rains happy little rainbow unicorns in my world. Other times, I swear that Pinhead guy from Hellraiser is following me around just to screw with me. Dick. Before, I think I would have really crashed and been upset and depressed about the ticket. I would have said “Karma is a bitch” or something like that. But karma is not a bitch. Karma is just karma. Actions happen. And what happened was I got a traffic ticket. And then I chose not to suffer for it.
It’s funny that without Buddhism, I wouldn’t have been able to see how that ticket isn’t a source of suffering. I now know that it’s my reaction and wrong view and attachment and false perception of what that ticket is that would have been my source of suffering. So instead, I just didn’t suffer. We continued on our trip to find pumpkins, and all was well. Samsara happens. It’s how you choose to deal with it that determines how you suffer (or don’t). Cheers.
I have decided to join a global movement that is bringing much needed attention to cancers that affect men. I’m doing this by growing a Moustache this Movember, the month formerly known as November. My commitment is to grow a moustache all November to change the face of men’s health and I want you to join me.
The funds we raise during our Moustache journey go to the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LIVESTRONG).
What many people don’t know is that 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime and that testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men aged 18-35. Facts like these have convinced me I should get involved.
To join my Movember team called The Cop Mops go to http://us.movember.com/register/25607.
Once registered you’ll be sent all the information needed to get donations and get growing as part of my Movember team.
Learn more about Movember by watching the Intro Video at http://us.movember.com
Try and get as many of your friends, family, and co-workers to join our team if you decide to join up. Seriously, this will be a lot of fun, it’s really easy to raise money for this, and you will have to put forth very little effort. No marathons, no walks around a lake, no going door-to-door. You just have to grow a ‘stache and get the word out. Donations can all be submitted online.
Together we can change the face of men’s health.
No pressure though. If this isn’t your thing, I totally understand.
More information to come soon. Cheers.
Well, it’s local election time here in WA. We get our ballots in the mail, and then mail them in by the deadline. This is a great process, as it enables you to sit in your underwear, research the candidates, and vote for the people you feel strongly about.
We have a referendum on our ballot this fall; Referendum 71. R71 is aksing voters to either approve or decline measures enacted by the legislature that give benefits and protections to people registered as domestic partners. This goes beyond the usual gay marriage issue though, because many will be affected by this proposal. There are children that will benefit from this legislation, as well as senior citizens. All the rights that my wife and I enjoy because of our legal union, domestic partners will be able to enjoy as well. If you are a voter in WA, I urge to to approve R71. All individuals should be able to enjoy the same protections under law, regardless of whom they choose to love.
I haven’t been able to think of one, not one valid and rational reason to not approve this measure; but if you can, feel free to leave a comment.
And remember, when voting for the lesser of two evils, you’re still voting for evil. Cheers.
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