Treating Others With Respect

The 2008 presidential elections made my passions flare. I did not agree with the opinions of the Republican party on most, if not all, of their political stances. I became very passionate about defending my opinions to a fault. Lynn had to reel me in quite a few times and remind me that even though other's opinions may vary or be drastically different than ours, we have to allow them to have an opinion and treat them with respect.

It goes back to the golden rule, which really spans most major religions. That is why I think one of the life lessons that I wrote has to do with respecting others:

"Treat others with kindness and respect. All of us have value and worth, even those that have differing opinions or are from different backgrounds. "

I learned on Saturday that it is very similar to one of "Eight Verses of Thougt Transformation" -- the verse is: "Determined to obtain the greatest possible benefit for all sentient beings, who are more precious than a wish-fullfilling jewel, I shall hold them most dear at all times" (Composed by Langri Tangpa Dorje Senghe). You will see in later postings that this verse also applies to some of the other 21 life lessons. I wrote the lesson a couple months ago, well before I knew anything about the 8 verses.

I think treating other's with respect / the golden rule is one of the core concepts to the meaning of life for most of us. I know for me, it is very important, but is a struggle when it is someone who has a different opinion than my own. I need to keep it as something I am cognizant of and practice to the best of my ability.

In the art or creative world the concept of respect also applies. When I was in high school, I had a friend whose mother was taking photography classes. Her class term paper about a famous photographer was on Maple Thorpe. Thorpe's work is very controversial, but as a budding artist my friends mother came to respect Thorpe for his innovation. She did not necessarily like any of his work, but she respected him as an artist. This is something in the creative world, we should all keep in mind -- even though we not like someones work, we should respect them for their vision and also getting themselves out there for others to even have an opinion on their works.

Much to learn...

I experienced something this last Saturday that I never did before, I went for a day retreat at a Tibetan Buddhist temple in Madison. The retreat was on mindfulness and meditation, I have MUCH to learn.

First off, sure... I have meditated in the past, but not for a full hour before breakfast, again for an hour after breakfast, and then did walking meditation. I learned that there is much more to Tibetan Buddhist meditation than just quieting ones mind. That is the first stage of learning to meditate. No... there is more... there is meditating on a question or a teaching and trying to figure out what it means to you. I think that is beautiful, but I was no means prepared for the day or that kind of concept. It was intense -- I did not make it through the full day.

After the walking meditation we had an hour of teachings by one of the monks, during that teaching I learned that the topic of the retreat, "The Eight Verses of Thought Transformation" regarding the 8 key attributes that a Bodhisattva embodies or has attained, was considered to be an advanced topic. I was not "there" with my understanding of Buddhist teachings. I did meet some very nice and extremely interesting people during the small group discussion, but I left after lunch. I took in a lot that morning, and I know I have much to learn...

The topic and the day was slightly intimidating, which I think is a little ironic because I have never found anything about Buddhist teachings as intimidating, but my exposure in the past was only what I did through reading or other types of self-discovery. To actually be physically at a temple and with others to learn about teachings is a whole new ball of wax. It was a beautiful experience and I am glad I did it.

Complicating Life

This week has been pretty dreary as far as weather wise in SW WI. I am trying to adapt to shorter days. It is taking me a while to adapt, and I feel really tired most days, but with that said... this week has been rather good overall.

I promised to post my 21 life lessons that I have identified in the work of fiction I am writing about a spiritual journey of 7 individuals. Here is the first lesson I would like to share:

" Life does not have to be complicated. We are the creators of our own complexity through the daily choices we make."

This lesson is really resounding with me this week. In my "day" job, I have been working on a project a couple months now. The project has gone full circle, and the route we originally intended to go with it is back in the scene. The point I want to make with this, is that I "over thought" the whole project from the beginning. I should have kept it simple and straight forward like it was at first. I tend to make things more complicated than what they need to be. The work project showed me that if I would have stuck with the original plan, I would have had better outcome when presenting it to others. My advise -- keep it simple, and listen to your gut -- it will let you know most times if things are going to get too fussy.

In the creative process we can see complexity creep into it where it really should not be. For instance if you want to do a drawing - dive in! Don't stare at the paper and ponder if you are using the right weight or at the pencil that you are using and wonder if it is the right hardness. Sure... the outcome may be slightly different if you used different mediums, but there should be a freedom and fun in creation; we should not let ourselves get caught up in the weeds of complexity.