When what you have studied leaves your mind entirely, and practice also disappears, then, when you perform whatever art you are engaged in, you accomplish the techniques easily without being inhibited by concern over what you have learned, and yet without deviating from what you have learned. This is spontaneously conforming to learning without being consciously aware of doing so. The science of the art of war can be understood through this.
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Family Traditions on the Art of War by Yagyu Munenori
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npr:
Filmmaker Debbie Lum sets off to make a documentary about men with Asian fetishes and unexpectedly finds herself in the middle of the story, acting as a bridge in a relationship between a 60-year-old American man and his 30-year-old Chinese bride.
— ‘Seeking Asian Female’ Takes A Close Look At A Fetish : Code Switch
Photo: Susan Munroe/Seeking Asian Female
Aww I have to watch this!
“Life is about making some things happen, not waiting for something to happen.”
Ponderings on Chinese fortune cookie fortunes.
Installment #3
This one I’ve had for awhile. I liked it so much I taped it to the underside of my phone receiver at work. This way I’d see it every time I went to call some customer or somebody in the plant. It would serve to remind me that often times I have to make the call, make the decision and make some things happen. Or it’s as simple as making myself do something - it climbs in my mind and tells me the only way I’m truly going to get an answer out of my customer contacts is by picking up the phone and calling them. It leads me to be less passive and more aggressive. (Of course, not too aggressive!) E-mail is a popular modern advent but damn, sometimes you just can’t get a reply after days of barraging folks with e-mails.
In my “outside of work” life I’ve found it’s relative to a lot. I lived in my current place for two and a half years. By finally doing something about it instead of waiting around for my roomie to be fed up with me (or vice-versa) I’m now waiting to close on my very own house at the end of this month. And when I have moments of weakness where I can’t seem to get myself out the door to be active with a workout or social with friends it serves as a figurative mind-punch to get me going. Amazing the ways a seemingly insignificant strip of paper can mold your life isn’t it?
My new favorite picture. Can’t wait to have a motorcycle.
“Take time to relax especially when you don’t have time for it.”
Ponderings on Chinese fortune cookie fortunes.
Installment #2
Well I don’t have time for it. Nah, kidding. I probably relax too much. This is great advice. But I must say I don’t do a great job of relaxing my mind. If it’s a nap I can drop in a bed and pass out in an instant. But in dreamland my mind is likely to be least at ease. The haunts of the day that I can ignore while awake I have much less power over in sleep.
All too often when I take a moment to meditate I will end up sleeping. At work I sit all day so sitting is quite a task at home. Surprisingly I can get the most relaxation from a nice walk or jog. That reminds me, I think I should head for a jog today after work. Hopefully this crap weather will let up some…not likely.
citymaus:
The social costs of driving that are not paid by the driver amount to a $300 billion subsidy each year. The EPA (Lowe, 1988) found that if employees were directly handed this subsidy, transit and bicycle use would go up and auto traffic would go down by 25 percent. A Seattle study found that society pays a $792 subsidy to each motorist each year (excluding a $1,920 annual free parking subsidy). In New York City, the metro area loses $55 billion each year in hidden auto costs associated with safety and environmental damage. More than 90 percent of all commuters park for free at work.
…Dispersed, auto-dependent development in Loudoun County, Virginia, is a net loss to the tax base of $700 to $2,200 per dwelling unit. In San Jose, California, planners determined that such development would create annual deficits of $4.5 million compared to a $2 million surplus if future development is compact.
nozziwalkablestreets, 05.03.13.
next time you’re reading the comments on a news article and some ignorant biased guy caps locks saying bicyclists should pay for the road, get licenses, etc, point them to this article.
A tidbit of bicycle-friendly statistics.
“The happiest person is the one without history.”
Ponderings on Chinese fortune cookie fortunes.
Installment #1
Today I received a fortune cookie with my [American] Chinese take-out meal from the local requisite Chinese food hole-in-the-wall. As many of us expect, there it was in my bag. If it wasn’t there I’d honestly be pretty upset. Most of you would - just admit it!
The way I eat my cookies is a result of the way I deliberated at length with friends as a teenager life’s most important question: How are you supposed to eat the cookie to ensure the fortune comes true? Do you eat it before or after reading the fortune? I didn’t let it tear at me too long. I compromised. The thing splits near-perfectly in half and I eat one half, read while I eat it then finish the cookie off as I question my pronunciation of the hieroglyphs under LEARN CHINESE on the back.
Imagine my chagrin upon pulling this fortune. The first satirical thought in my mind was “Yeah, because the communist Chinese flood their valleys, kill their teachers and destroy their past all in an attempt to embrace growth into what they consider a more verdant future.” I followed this with the disconcertedness of my southern American conservative spirit seeking to claim the commies were now trying to brain wash us with our own fortune cookies, just like with fluoride in the water (See: Dr. Strangelove).
But that’s the initial reaction only. In all honesty this phrase and belief goes back beyond Marx. Well I’m no history junky and I’m not about to throw around opinions and presumptions like they’re facts. However the idea that dwelling on one’s past upsets one’s present is generally accepted. And it applies wholeheartedly to my personal take on life. Minimalism and a release (easier said than done) of past worries and regrets. I just think my fortune cookie could have found a more sensitive way to present that.
