Resin stains
The Eucalyptus stump now serves as a base for the bird bath
Garden furniture
Front garden tree was severely lopped - for less leaves and more light
I’ve owned a variety of boats, usually one a time, excluding
tenders. The benefits of owning one boat at a time are clear: You can only sail
one at a time. If you have two or more, you have to maintain them, store them
and preferably use them. Your expenses increase with every extra boat you own.
Unless you have free storage space, keeping more than one can seriously
increase your expenses - worst of all, your anxieties increase. When a fierce
gale rages, you wonder if moorings will hold, and you are not satisfied until
you have seen for yourself.
The same principle of the
less you have the better, not only applies to boat ownership, but to all
possessions. Obviously, I’m not referring to the basic necessities of life. We
all require, shelter, food and clothing, and in a country such as ours, the UK,
we want warmth in our homes during the winter months.
Some would say a car
is a necessity, especially if they want the freedom to come and go as they
please; although today, with the volume of traffic on our roads, there is no
guarantee that you are going to get to where you want without hindrance because
of congestion. What has been happening in Kent recently, because of countless
lorries parked on the M20 due to an immigrant crisis at Calais and striking
French ferry crews, is a motorist’s nightmare.
Early this year, my wife and I set about getting rid of
things we didn’t use* – the sort of rubbish that accumulates in our loft. That
process of shedding possessions has been ongoing, but no sooner than we shed,
we accumulate! We’ve recently gained a number of possessions – things like a
new patio and garden furniture, and of course, ‘Pike’, my Iain Oughtred skiff. Yesterday, I explained how I cared for the boat
and how I was working on her to make her watertight. She requires effort and
attention, if she is not to deteriorate.
Today, we had the eucalyptus tree cut down and taken away to
simply our lives. The tree was lovely to look at, but what a pain it was,
because of falling leaves and detritus in the form of twigs and bark, not to
mention birds’ whatsit! All of this muck had to be swept off the patio on a regular basis.
Would you
believe it? The workmen made a horrendous mess by marking the patio with resin
stains from branches as they dragged them away. In turn, these marks ruined the
appearance of the patio; so they had to be removed. The only remedy that worked
was to apply bleach, and wire brush the affected areas.
I go back to the principle stated in the second paragraph, “The
less you have the better.” - Not forgetting
the qualification about having the basic necessities of shelter, food and
clothing. Why are we never satisfied? Why do we always want more?
Related Links
Boat Ownership
Minimal Sailboats
*Disposal of Surplus Possessions
Pruning for a Rich Harvest
Vanity of the Sailor
Bill, you ask a very important question here. "Why are we never satisfied? Why do we always want more?"
ReplyDeleteBuddhism deals very well with this question, in fact it is part of Buddhisms "Four Noble Truths"
There is a saying from the Pali canon, "upadhi dukkhassa mūlanti," which means “Attachment is the root of suffering.”
Buddhism is not a religion as such, it is more a science of the mind. I have found great truth within its teachings and is in no way a threat to Christian belief, in fact I have found it complimentary and emphasis's many practises which were once part and parcel of Christian spirituality.
I call these practises "The tools of transformation". By making a paradigm shift in the way we approach spirituality, which means changing our emphasis slightly (NOT discarding anything in terms of Christian belief) we are able to make some inroads into changing transforming who we are.
What has disturbed me about Christian practise is 2000 years of war and persecution regarding what one 'Believes' rather than what one does (The fruits of the spirit).
Less emphasis on demanding that the rest of the world will be saved by believing in ones own religious ideas and more emphasis on transforming oneself first I think would go a long way to make Christs Church a more attractive proposition.
The tools of transformation as I seem them are:
Impeccable moral behaviour.
Meditation (or mind training).
Contemplation.
Prayer.
Praise
Chanting.
Spiritual reading.
Retreat.
Pilgrimage.
It is interesting that the Dalai Lama admonishes Christians who want to become Buddhists and tells them to go back to their own communities and churches and make their own inherited religion work - by work he is talking about personal transformation of the individual, not theological exclusiveness about "Belief". Believing in Gods love and compassion is very important, but we must transform ourselves first if we are going to take the delivery of this gift seriously.
I know many Christians for whom attendance in Churches doesn't seem to have changed them in any way at all. This is because all they hear in church is an admonishment to 'believe' and the exclusiveness of this belief - They are never taught the tools of transformation. I find this very sad indeed.
I can only echo what Alden says. Very nicely put.
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