Why Observe Lent in this Secular Age?

Many of my friends think I'm crazy for being Catholic. Especially for turning Catholic.

And sometimes I think I'm crazy too. Especially these day, with all the sex scandals and the election of a regressive pope who is trying to return us to pre-Reformation Catholicism

It's about the music, I tell them. And largely it is. Regardless of one's belief in a Christian God or not, there is something truly truly transcendent about the music, espeically of the High Renaissance. Especially when I sing it, which I do every week with the wonderful St. Joseph's Choir here in Hamilton.

As far as my belief in all the rest of it -- no, I don't believe that Christ was necessarily THE son of god to the exclusion of all others. And I fail to see why The Virgin Birth matters from a spiritual perspective (though I do understand why it matters on the socio political level)

Despite all of my misgivings, I do observe the season of Lent. The reasons are both practical and spiritual. From a practical perspective, it's a good time to practise the discipline of exploring what is really essential. It's grounding and makes me very aware of the things which sustain my life at the basic level, and what is not strictly necessarily.

It's also healthy -- I don't need a bottle of wine a week. It's easier on the budget to cut back, and it's also healthier. Ditto for that expensive Spanish Manchego cheese. And chocolate.

It's also good for my relationship to the rest of the planet. I'm consuming less. I'm not cutting out everything that's fun, but I'm buying less. I don't buy much to begin with, but recently I've let myself go just a bit ... I am very aware of what I don't need because of the pile of stuff in the dining room set to go out the door to Value Village.

And all of this is good for the spirit. My travels to South Asia, Kenya and Central America showed me how little a lot of people live on. And by their example, I know I can live on a lot less too. And maybe, if more people cut back on their consumption, there might be more left for them.

So I'm "depriving" myself of some of the extras. But I'm not going to cut out all of the really good things in my life. With all the time I'm saving not going to movies, or eating out, I'm going to sing -- I'm going to connect with those spirits out there, whatever they are. And I'm going to play my piano. And write. And read (Library books).

And it's only temporary. Come Easter Sunday - wine, chocolate (good chocolate) and one big exotic cheese platter.

Life is good. Even during Lent.

First Snowfall

This statue of the Buddha is like many others I saw in Sri Lanka. But the setting is so much different .. I took this picture last summer at Mary Atkinson's in Windsor in the middle of last winter.

Instead of coconut palm trees and lush post-monsoon greenery, all is grey and brown.

That's what Canada is like for a lot of the year. And as I watched the snow flurry around this morning, I thought, that's okay with me.

I need seasons. I remember a soundscape artist saying once "it must be nice to have a time of silence and quiet. In tropical countries, you never get a time to rest".

I think I understand what he means. I sensed a correlation between temperament and climate ... nothing ever seems to slow down in the heat of South Asia.

Now, back in Ontario, I am slowing down too. My friend in London, with whom I am staying , was commenting that I am still in the "five days and gotta move on" rhythm of life. She's got a point ... because I have been travelling so much over the past year, it's hard to stay in one place. Yet I know that's what I have to do because it's time to find a job and start to live like a normal person again.

Though I don't even know what 'normal" is ... what used to be normal isn't anymore. Lots of adjustments still to come. So I'm trying to learn from the Buddha what it means to be detached from results, from expectations and hence, from suffering.

Doesn't come easy .. nor does it come easy to sit in the silence of winter after the heat of the blazing hot sun. Got to say though, the silence is wonderful.

Ramadan on Nagin Lake

Fast email is pretty slow here in Northern India. Actually, everything is except the driving. But it's not as frantic up here as it is in Delhi and I am so glad to have the break from the car horns and traffic.

I am staying in a houseboat on Nagin Lake, which is just outside of the city of Srinigar, in a valley of the Himalayas. My host family, the Dandoos, are wonderful, peaceful people whose attitude is to take what they need and share the rest around. In the high pressure commercial world of India, this attitude doesn't serve them very well.

But it does serve them and the planet well in terms of peace and harmony in the world. The Dandoos are the family of my friend Nazir in Vancouver, which is how I came to be here. The houseboat I am staying in is called "Silver Bell" and the Dandoo family has had houseboats here for generations. Times are tough in the torism business here and it is very hard for them to make ends meet while they wait for the good times to return. Their guest books include wonderful notes from all over the planet, and very well deserved.

You will hear all about it when I get back .. this is just a brief snapshot.

One of the most amazing things about Nagin Lake is the Ramadan prayers ... there are no less than 20 prayer locations all around the small lake and when it is prayer time (4:30 am; 11:00, 4:00, and the big prayer at 8:00) the sound is amazing. (There is one more prayer time too but I have forgotten what it is).

I am doing well .. I think I said before I am not an easy traveller, but I do think it's important to do. This trip is less about pleasure, and mostly about education. And believe me, I am already seeing the world in different ways than I had even two weeks ago. The poverty is staggering. The need to redistribute wealth in this world is so, so important.

One thing I forgot to tell you about .. when I was in Kathmandu, I met two people who finally (after 5 years in applications), got their visa to move to Canada. They were 18 and 15, and I started to feel very motherly thinking that they were moving there by themselves. Finally, someone reassured me that, no, their parents are coming too.

It was fun to talk to them. They were so excited. One of their biggest questions was "do I need to know how to speak French?" They are moving to Mississauga or Brampton, so I reassured them, no, they don't. (Note to my sister Marianne -- the 15 year old is nervous about school .. I told her you worked for the Peel Board where she will be going to school and you can talk to her to help her settle in. They are leaving on October 15th). Their other questions were "are clothes cheap?", "what about CD's" and they were amazed to find out you can still buy a VCR in Canada .. those are long gone in Nepal.

People are people everywhere.

So, I am off to Jammu tomorrow to catch a train to Hardiwar, which is closer to Delhi and a good yoga/meditation place. This is more of an R&R trip .. I am going to stop trying to learn quite so much for a bit. "Try Easier", as many people have told me many times.

PS -- The men over here are something else. Let's just leave it at that for now ...

Happy Dasain!

Yesterday was the beginning of Dasain, the most significant holiday of the Nepali year. Faruq set me up with an appointment to visit South Asia Partnership Nepal yesterday morning. I was surprised when we got there and thirty people were all sitting cross-legged on the floor waiting for .. something .. to begin. I couldn't tell what.

Then someone came around with a big plate of bright scarlet paste and yellow flower petals. Everyone (including me) dipped their finger in the paste and then touched their forehead with their fingers, creating a round red circle between the eyes. The flower petals were sprinkled on our heads. The round circle, I have been told, is a tika. Need to find out more about that.

Then plates were passed out and servants starting dishing out food .. a type of dish made from legumes, fried ginger (yum!), water buffalo (tasty but very chewy), bamboo soup and a whole bunch of other things. It was really great.

The festival of Dasain is a festival to honour the goddess Durga. Durga is the partner/consort/wife of Shiva, the Creator/Destroyer. During Dasain, all the monsters and evil spirits are chased away by Durga. Keeping all the lineages of the gods and goddesses here is difficult. Especially since there are more than three million of them!

Dasain continues for another nine days. I will be leaving tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon to go back to Delhi and then up to Srinigar for five days. I am really happy with how the trip is going. Most of the time I am feeling very comfortable. Every now and again I do a doubletake and ask "WHERE am I???!!" but then I just get back to my writing. Staying focussed on the work at hand is a good way through this.

And by the way, I am finally starting my first book.

PS -- for those of you who are asking for my pictures, I'm afraid it will have to wait. Uploading is proving to be a pain, so I will just keep taking them and add them to the blog likely when I get home.

A Hopeful Perspective

This was emailed to me by the amazing Grace Lee Boggs, a long time activist in Detroit. It gives me a lot of confidence and hope to read that there are other people too who think that the dark times we are living in are just the opening act for the light to come.

The winter solstice is coming .. time to look forward to the return of the light.

V


ANOTHER WORLD IS NECESSARY
ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE
ANOTHER WORLD HAS ALREADY STARTED

Michigan Citizen, Nov. 27-Dec. 3, 2005

We are in the midst of a great transformation, not only economically but
psychologically, culturally, politically, in our relations with one
another, to the Earth, to other species and to other peoples of the world, and
in our concept of ourselves and of our rights and responsibilities as human
beings.

To an unprecedented degree, as we approach 2006, millions of us are
aware that our present and impending disasters are not natural but man-made,
the consequence of our limitless pursuit of capital accumulation.

Up to now the main victims of this have been the peoples of the global
South. But now the chickens are coming home to roost. In our own countries,
the United States and throughout Europe, there are tens of millions who
for decades have been marginalized, living how they can, without any social
safety nets, unemployed, disempowered, disenfranchised, disengaged,
disrespected, and without a perspective of another positive future.

These people in the so-called informal sector are now being joined by
those who through centuries of struggle and sacrifices thought they could look
forward to a stable and secure future for themselves and their children.

At this moment and under these circumstances it would be easy to
despair. But this universal crisis is not only a danger but a promise, an
opportunity to advance ourselves and our societies to a new level, based
on a new vision, new principles and values:

* Respect for the limits of the earth
* Responsibility for community and notjust for self
* Concern for posterity into theseventh generation
* Partnership instead of patriarchalrelations
* A new concept of Work based on usevalues and skills
* Resistance to commodification of human relationships and of all life
* Local, sustainable and self-relianteconomies instead of one global
dominant economy
* Diversity instead of monocultures
* Restore the joy of living incommunity with all creatures
* Practice global citizenship topreserve the best of our historical
traditions
* Social justice and cooperation instead of exploitation and
competition

WHAT DO WE DO NOW? HOW DO WE GET FROM HERE TO THERE?

WE can begin by restoring our relationships to each other and to the
Earth

WE can create gardens, for food, health and to create a community as a
basis for resistance, for learning and enjoyment of young and old.

WE can create new subsistence skills to grapple with our present
problems and the challenges to come.

WE can transform our schools from job-and-career-oriented institutions
to places where children and young people can learn the values of teamwork,
serving the community, self-reliance and the joys of creativity

WE can initiate discussions in our communities locally, nationally and
internationally on new visions, a new perspective, and the profound
historical meaning of the great turning during this time in which we
live.

WE can share and spread the word of what people are already doing to
create a better world.

Grace Lee Boggs, Detroit, Michigan., Boggscenter.org
Maria Mies, Koeln, Germany, Women and Life on Earth (WLOE)
Shea Howell, Detroit, Michigan
Werner Ruhoff, Koeln, Germany
Hilmar Kunath, Hamburg, Germany
Elisabeth Voss, Berlin, Germany
Irina Vellay, Dortmund, Germany

This statement emerged from some o f the participants in the
International Workshop on Self-Organizing and Common Self-Reliance, Cologne, Germany,
October 20-22, 2005.