Do You See What I See?

One must always tell what one sees. Above all, which is more difficult, one must always see what one sees. - Charles Peguy in the Zen Calendar (June 10, 2003).

Day 167. I am filled with sorrow. Two cyclists were killed by cars in Oklahoma City over the weekend. One was a hit and run. I feel so much anger at this backward state that will not build bike lanes or educate motorists about the rights of people on bikes. We write letters and go to city council meetings and have "Rides of Silence" each year to raise awareness over the number of cyclists injured and killed while pedaling their bicycles. Meanwhile, Oklahoma remains in the top ten list of "most unhealthy" states, with Oklahoma City the Number One most unhealthy city in the nation. Yet another statistic to be outraged and embarrassed by. Perhaps some green space and bike lanes would lend themselves to people watching less Fox News and moving their bodies a little more. Yeah. I'm pissed.

I promised myself I would abstain from waxing political on my blog. There are writers blogging away on politics who are much more proficient. I prefer to study and emulate models like Greg Mortenson and the Dali Lama. Obviously, they are not totally apolitical; however, it appears that they keep a needle-sharp focus on achieving acts of loving-kindness in the real world. Politics can be very stymieing if the goal is to actually get something done.

When I pause to think about it, most substantive acts can totally circumvent politics. The human condition defies political affiliation. So much unites us. We need air to breathe and a piece of earth to lie upon. We need enough to eat and drink. We need shelter from the elements. We need meaningful ways to occupy our time. We need preventive care to avoid illness and medical care to treat it. We want our loved ones to be safe. We want our children to survive to adulthood. We want to affiliate - to belong to a community. We want to practice a form of spirituality that is congruent with our hearts' desire. We want to transcend death.

I increasingly feel that I must tell what I see. I see fear. Fear masked as anger and bravado. Fear disguised as righteous indignation and unsubstantiated justification of hate and violence. Unnecessary fear, based on illogical conclusions and inaccurate, incomplete data. The admission of fear has become taboo, while impulsive, angry words and actions are rewarded with press and prestige.

It is mind boggling to watch our culture regress so horrifically. Why is anger and the acts it precipitates held in such high regard? Developmentally, the inappropriate expression of anger is immature and infantile. Most of us have mastered hitting and biting and spitting and saying "No!" and "Mine!" by the age of two. These are not evolved behaviors. They are not difficult or impressive or indicative of wisdom. What happened to kindness, patience, self-control, intellect, and selflessness as traits we esteem? How can we expect to cultivate these attributes in ourselves and our children if they are no longer valued?

It feels daunting to continue to "see what I see." I see my desire to respect and refine characteristics that society no longer values. I see that I must challenge the absurdity that madder is better. I see that modeling an approach of acceptance and kindness is often ridiculed and rejected as weak and ineffectual. I see that sitting on my cushion is necessary but not sufficient for effecting change in my world. It is painful to see so much, especially when all I really want to see is more bike lanes.

Gassho,
CycleBuddhaDoc