p u p p e t - y - l e s s

Two puppet shows have caught my eye lately that I wish dearly I could see. Puppetry has long been a secret love of mine (just ask my husband, who is always simultaneously amazed and stymied by how easily I laugh when he makes jokes as some character using Ari's stuffed animals). It's my childhood spent with the Muppets, I think. I just love puppets in general as an art form and sometimes regret my earlier forays as an artist did not include that medium more consistently.

Anyway... in an odd bit of synchronicity, both shows we happened to stumble upon are adaptations of Zen parables... Buddhist takes on the human condition as told through puppetry and theatre. How cool is that?!

The first we noticed was a show created by Blair Thomas & Company. Thomas is the former founder of Redmoon Theater (another Chicago fav), and also attended seminary at the Zen Buddhist Temple Andy used to attend. His new company had a show running at the MCA in November... and Andy and I were very sad we had to miss it. From the little I read (preview articles, reviews, etc.), it looked like it was really good. So if you are in Chicago or the Chicago area... I urge you to check out any future work (and then tell me how it was!!)

The second show opens in January in North Carolina and has been created by Paperhand Puppet Intervention. Unfortunately, we will miss that one too. This one explores the Buddhist concept of the Hungry Ghost, and uses shadow puppets, marionettes, masks, and more. I really wish we could have seen this one. Ah well. If you are in the Raleigh-Durham area, go check it out at Manbites Dog Theater and see what you think.

Resolutionish

The end of each year provides an opportunity to consider the year we are leaving behind and to reflect upon what we want to do better in the year ahead. Here are a few of my thoughts as 2008 ends and 2009 is about to begin.

I want to...

• Appreciate my husband more and to tell him how much I love him and how much he means to me more often.
• Let go of the sometime-frustration or upset that arises when spending time with Ari; she's only 2 and most of the time I'm the one being unreasonable in my expectations or limited in my patience. She is one of the most amazing beings ever... she deserves to be thoroughly valued and honored for her best qualities and forgiven the ones that pose more challenge.
• Get my house clean and organized! I am so tired of living with too much, living in a half-finished environment, and living in what feels like chaos. Although we are likely to be just as busy in 2009 as we were in 2008 (if not more so), we can still make a better dent than we are currently.
• Enjoy myself more, feel happier more often, and feel more gratitude. Being at peace and noticing the blessings in life is an active choice, and one that there is no reason to delay. I want to become better at this.
• Go greener. Improve our output in terms of what we generate and improve our intake in terms of what we bring into the house.
• Go more natural with our food. Eat more whole foods, organic foods, and healthy foods! Andy got me Super Natural Cooking for Christmas, and so I am very excited to redesign our pantry, and discover new ways of conceptualizing health, nutrition, and meal-making.
• Incorporate exercise in some fashion. I know it's way obvious to go this route on such a list, but it's applicable and appropriate for my life, so there ya go. (Lately, I've been thinking tai chi... so perhaps a do-at-home DVD would be a good start.)
• Communicate more with my friends and family... let them know how important they are to me and what they bring to my life. I think I tend to be an overly private and reserved person... and I know some of my struggles with intimacy and commitment can lead to less effusive expression despite very strong feelings I may hold for those most dear to me.
• Do something in 2009 that will positively impact society at large. I'm not sure yet what this will be... but I want to continue to find ways to impact others' lives in a constructive and beneficial way—whether on a big or small scale, recognized or anonymous. My goal is to increase my social action efforts.
• Invest more in my spiritual growth. I'm not sure if this means staying with the Unitarian Universalist church or branching out elsewhere to see if there is a better home for me. I know it means continuing to pray and define my relationship to prayer, as well as to meditate in a more intentional and dedicated way so that it becomes part of my daily routine. (I also got some way cool Buddhist-themed books from my family on Andy's side... so I am very excited to delve into those!)

May your 2009 be full of love, discovery, change, and peace.

Obscure Beauty

I heard on the radio yesterday Eartha Kitt had died. As is so often the case with celebrities, there were lots of stories, commentaries, editorial notes, etc. about her life and the many things that made her unique... one might even say great.

It made me think about this love affair we seem to have with the famous in American culture. We adore, pedestal-ize, twitter over, and eventually eulogize those who have reached stardom with a sort of myopic, laserbeam focus - forgetting or often not even noticing the many acts of courage, kindess, and generosity going on around us all the time.

It was one of the reasons I loved the CNN Heroes concept so much... except that, ironically, the very act of recognizing those heroes on such a grand and public scope - even ending with an awards ceremony and the "top hero" of the bunch (who very humbly suggested those in the audience raise/donate the same amount of her award for every other person nominated).

Maybe there is no middle ground between obscurity and celebrity. Although - I have seen it from time to time... the celebration and mourning of an ordinary life that managed to touch thousands of people without every garnering what any of us would consider extraordinary praise or public notice.

I've been thinking about it a lot not only because of my own internal struggle with recognition and obsurity, but also from the standpoint of school counseling and character education or classroom guidance. How do we teach good character to our youth? How do we model it? How do we encourage it?

I tend to think it aligns with both the Unitarian Universalist and Buddhist approaches, which differ slightly but have, fundamentally, the same end. You do what is right because it is right. UUs support action tied to a fundamental creed - a personal and collective promise - based upon the concepts of social connection, interpersonal equilibrium, and humanitarian responsibility. Similarly, the Buddhist approach also seems to be one of action, but perhaps one that is also tied into spiritual harmony and personal enlightenment (which in turn leads to greater compassion and ability to help others).

In either case, the idea is not to seek accolades, recognition, or praise for one's work. To commit random acts of kindness that are unsung expressions of love.

I like what Abraham Lincoln said on the subject (which sounds a bit like a Zen koan):

"Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow.

The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing."

So how do we celebrate our ordinary heroes without making right action heroic? How do we encourage responsibility and compassion while underscoring such things should be the norm, rather than the exception?

Perhaps the first step is simply opening our experience to include the acts of generosity, compassion, and bravery taking place in our own lives. To notice our local and personal heroes and to see if we might be able to do the same for someone else - even if, and perhaps especially if, no one will ever know.

Black Friday

It was stunning this morning to start our day hearing news that the persons responsible for the attacks in Mumbai had not yet been stopped. The news of such a terrible event on a holiday like Thanksgiving was very sad, and even sadder was the news today of the many lives lost in the last three days.

Then we heard about the two people killed by a gunman in Toys R Us, and the worker trampled to death in Wal-Mart. And I know hundreds of thousands of people die daily and that it's very dangerous to shape one's worldview based upon the inevitably biased reporting of what is determined news by any given media outlet.

But still... it was hard not to think WTF, and I have definitely been struggling to not become completely discouraged and disheartened. Ironically, we watched CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute last night. So odd to have two days dichotomously filled with some of the worst and best acts of humanity.

I guess where I have ultimately ended up today is trying to think about my impact on the world and what it means to balance the Christian principal to treat others as I might want to be treated; the Democratic philosophy that we all deserve respect and dignity, which means treating all others as my equal; the Buddhist concept of suffering and what it means to work toward the elimination of suffering in the world--to strive for enlightenment and peace within myself in order to aide the peace of others; and the Unitarian Universalist tradition of social action, human justice, and a creedal foundation of compassion and activity.

Although I believe I have made choices and put forth changes in my life that moves toward the direction of these ideals, I do believe there is still more I can do. And so... today has reminded me of the importance of remaining mindful, while also taking steps to bring thought and word to eventual action.

The Arist, The Canvas (or: meaning against the backdrop of purpose)

I had lunch with a fellow classmate today who is an astounding and inspiring woman. She has lived a varied and exciting life full of great accomplishments in the way of helping, encouraging, and ministering to other people.

One thing she said today that really stood out to me was, "No one is an accident." We had been talking about purpose and meaning and how some people feel lost in their lives or can't seem to find a reason to keep going... they feel disconnected, isolated, or without worth.

In those times, she said, it's important to remember that one's life is not an accident. Everyone's life has purpose and everyone is connected to God (which she and I probably think of a bit differently).

I tend to believe we are all connected to something larger than ourselves... something through which we are interwoven and interconnected, along the lines of quantum physics or string theory. Add in the spiritual and the scientific becomes metaphysical... the space between atoms becomes a deeper and more meaningful place within which something magical or sacred can reside.

It's difficult, sometimes, to find or define one's purpose in life. And I do think the ways in which we find meaning or that which we prioritize and deem important and fulfilling in life (think of Curly's "one thing" in City Slickers) can change over time.

But I love the articulation of the concept that every life has purpose and meaning simply through its mere existence. Sort of a Buddhist idea in the sense that being is the point. Is is the point. And thus no life is without worth or purpose. It is as it should be.

I sometimes think that if you could stand outside of time and see all the lives that are, have been, and will be, it would be like looking at one of those pictures made up of tinier pictures... each distinct image holding its own but also being caught in a pattern much larger - and ultimately more complex and grander - than its own.

I think that would be a rather lovely thing to view. An intentional yet chaotic portrait of this tremendous roller coaster we call life.

Looking Back to Look Ahead

There was a second story I heard yesterday on NPR that also has stuck with me. It featured the life and work of Japanese artist, Ikuo Hirayama, who survived the 1945 atom bomb drop on Hiroshima.

Hirayama was 15 when the bomb dropped, and he has chosen to explore the devastation, sorrow, rebirth, and aftermath of such a traumatic event through his artwork - both on a personal level and a more cultural and national level. Many survivors deeply connect with his paintings, and Hirayama's path out of the ashes, past radiation sickness and the death of friends and family, included the study of Buddhism, which lead to a very successful career as a painter of well-known Buddhist images.

They story described one of his largest and most famous works, "The Holocaust of Hiroshima," a replica of which is on display at the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Memorial Park. The painting not only seeks to visually depict his own experience on August 6, but also the overall effect the flash and fire of the bomb had on the city. The incorporation of Buddhist images speaks to his desire to see the city reborn so that it may rise again... hopefulness in the wake of true devastation.

It reminded me of a book I read a long time ago called Requiem by Shizuko Go. It is no longer in print, and my attempts to find it so I may give it as a gift to others ended, for years, in failure; however, you can now find used copies available on Amazon.com.

It follows a young girl through the dropping of the bomb and its aftermath upon her home, her family, and her friends. I think I first read it in high school, and I remember being so moved by the story. No history class or textbook had ever delved into the human cost and traumatic aspect of the event, and it helped me to see and contextualize that part of my history as an American much more fully.

I am not nearly as adept with history as I would like to be. I'm always amazed at the way Andy can remember important facts and figures and can contextualize history across decades and centuries, countries and continents, so that he sees larger patterns and parallels. People who are able to do that always amaze me, and stories like the one featuring Hirayama remind me how important it is to remember our past and the ways in which our cultural heritage informs our future self.