Southern wanderings and thoughts from on the road
As I post here once again, this time, well I have writer's block I think it's called.
Maybe too many things to say! So here goes with a selection of many thoughts while meditating / driving a few days ago on a recent roadie through parts of Southland...
I've got a selection of photos too of how I've seen what I've seen.
And you know, they bring to mind the fascinating topic of how we all see things differently.
Riverton Beach...
Extreme examples would be a 5 year old will perceive a scene or event quite differently to a 75 year old, and male verses female could be different again depending on the context learnt from experience, and a long serving recidivist criminal/convict may not be able to describe what he/she witnessed at a crime scene the same as a long standing Buddhist monk blest with a quiet mind earned through years of meditation.
Upper Mavora Lake...
So it gets hard in any event or scene for anyone to be able to state definitively they know the reality, the truth.
Te Waewae Bay is a very exposed and westernmost of three large bays lying on the Foveaux Strait coast of Southland, New Zealand...
This makes a strong case to be on our guard against being judgmental. Humility in face of the fact that we don't know what we don't know seems a good strategy.
Oreti Beach Invercargill, immortalised by the film about Burt Munro, The World's Fastest Indian...
In society these days I often hear many say they're fed up with political correctness.
Gulls on Riverton Rocks...
Closer examination then seems to reveal that we're becoming more tolerant of everything that represent the extremes in society, or more pointedly behaviours and beliefs that on closer examination maybe be based on anything but the truth. The sad thing we can add to this, is an ignorance of history, and how we often fail to learn from lessons hard learnt recently or otherwise.
The Kingston Flyer...
Lower Mavora Lake...
When I experience a group of people with extreme views, I begin to wonder if tolerance could be a quiet pervasive non selective experience that eventually gift's members a wider vision, and then they may quietly withdraw from the group.
I'm going to discuss all this, and my trip, with Tigor over coffee and a muffin in a few days time...
But the bad news here is that then in many instances those left become even more extreme, e.g. groups with a particular racism or religious bent, as they probably feel threatened and alone, yet when in this situation ourselves we don't seem aware of this.
Kingston Flyer economy class...
Hang on though, too much of what I write here could be taken to be descriptions of a number of static states that do alter, and often, just like how light changes on a landscape!
Manapouri...
Last week I wrote about the states of emotional availability and un-availability. And did you know that it's thought that when we have dreams featuring water it's symbolic of our emotional state. Watch this space!
Lake Manapouri...
Lower Mavora Lake...
Then there are the Takitimu Mountains, named after the ancient Maori migration waka (canoe) Takitimu. To me they have much mana [for some reason in my head the name also seems to mean chief or king], just like the nearby Mavora Lakes...
Maybe too many things to say! So here goes with a selection of many thoughts while meditating / driving a few days ago on a recent roadie through parts of Southland...
I've got a selection of photos too of how I've seen what I've seen.
And you know, they bring to mind the fascinating topic of how we all see things differently.
Riverton Beach...
Extreme examples would be a 5 year old will perceive a scene or event quite differently to a 75 year old, and male verses female could be different again depending on the context learnt from experience, and a long serving recidivist criminal/convict may not be able to describe what he/she witnessed at a crime scene the same as a long standing Buddhist monk blest with a quiet mind earned through years of meditation.
Upper Mavora Lake...
So it gets hard in any event or scene for anyone to be able to state definitively they know the reality, the truth.
Te Waewae Bay is a very exposed and westernmost of three large bays lying on the Foveaux Strait coast of Southland, New Zealand...
This makes a strong case to be on our guard against being judgmental. Humility in face of the fact that we don't know what we don't know seems a good strategy.
Oreti Beach Invercargill, immortalised by the film about Burt Munro, The World's Fastest Indian...
In society these days I often hear many say they're fed up with political correctness.
Gulls on Riverton Rocks...
Closer examination then seems to reveal that we're becoming more tolerant of everything that represent the extremes in society, or more pointedly behaviours and beliefs that on closer examination maybe be based on anything but the truth. The sad thing we can add to this, is an ignorance of history, and how we often fail to learn from lessons hard learnt recently or otherwise.
The Kingston Flyer...
Tolerance of everything sadly includes tolerance of intolerance!
Lower Mavora Lake...
When I experience a group of people with extreme views, I begin to wonder if tolerance could be a quiet pervasive non selective experience that eventually gift's members a wider vision, and then they may quietly withdraw from the group.
I'm going to discuss all this, and my trip, with Tigor over coffee and a muffin in a few days time...
But the bad news here is that then in many instances those left become even more extreme, e.g. groups with a particular racism or religious bent, as they probably feel threatened and alone, yet when in this situation ourselves we don't seem aware of this.
Kingston Flyer economy class...
Hang on though, too much of what I write here could be taken to be descriptions of a number of static states that do alter, and often, just like how light changes on a landscape!
Manapouri...
Last week I wrote about the states of emotional availability and un-availability. And did you know that it's thought that when we have dreams featuring water it's symbolic of our emotional state. Watch this space!
Lake Manapouri...
Lower Mavora Lake...
Then there are the Takitimu Mountains, named after the ancient Maori migration waka (canoe) Takitimu. To me they have much mana [for some reason in my head the name also seems to mean chief or king], just like the nearby Mavora Lakes...
The mauri [life force] of the two Mavora lakes represents the essence that binds the physical and spiritual elements of all things together, generating and upholding life... ... more on a previous post >>
posted by Donald at
10:47 AM
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