Taking A Retreat

Once again, I find that I'm pushing myself to the edge out here on the Internet. I spend an inordinate amount of time poring through information and blogs, and believing that it really makes a difference, that with enough time an integrative vision and message can be grown.

Yesterday, I snapped a little bit at a few bloggers and politicians, and, in my mind, that's never appropriate. I know it's par for the course for many, but not me. That's not what I'm about. Sometimes it happens because I'm mixing my reading of Camus with politics (especially meditating on his brilliant position against "murder justifying murder"), which is a combustible mixture for me.

Or, it might be rage at the idea of a renewed military draft, and the growing trend I see in this country of "failure justifying failure". I really think that our current course in this country, in both economic and foreign policy, is severely limiting our options for the future. I find this dangerous, and don't even really care whether its intended or not (and I don't assume that it is intended in the absence of supporting information for that contention).

So yes, I'm angry. To be honest, I'm very concerned and worried about our viability and strength as a nation (in a larger sense than military might). It's not healthy to be lathering myself into a rage, however, as it affects the quality of my life and of my relations with others (similar I find to the trend nationally).

With that in mind, I'm going to wrap up a few projects I'm working on in the next week or two, and then head off to the mountains for a zen retreat. In case you're wondering, I'm not a Buddhist, but a Christian who crosses over and sees great value in zen and taoist practices and insights. This movement is growing, of dialogue within and between faiths, and I encourage people of all faiths to explore the insights of zen meditation and philosophy.

I am.