Monday, December 5, 2005

"The Sacred and the Profane"
4:28am

"Sacred Scarab"

The atmosphere at the Luxor hotel and casino astounds me. There is such a plethora of images sacred to me mixed in a milieu some would call profane. The gamblers who sit for hours at a hungry machine, feeding it coins while in a seeming trance, the gamblers who play the cards, no doubt less in a trance, but all taking risks, hoping for a huge win, they make a strange panorama amongst these images of ancient gods and goddesses. Even the airport in Las Vegas is filled with noisy gambling machines.

Those that play the game called Sacred Scarab, do any of them have an idea of what is sacred about this symbol? Or is it in their minds merely a 'good luck' symbol? A clerk in one of the shops noticed my lapis and gold scarab and complimented me on it:

     
Gold with Lapis Lazuli

I told her it came from Egypt, "Shopategypt.com", if I remembered right. She then asked, "Has it brought you luck?" A bit startled, I replied, "Yes, I believe it has," but I could explain no further.

If I had tried, she might not have understood. What gives an image its sacred qualities resides solely in the mind and heart of the person perceiving that image. If it is not there, if that image doesn't call up meanings and associations sacred to that viewer, it is just shapes and lines.

I say by the principle of Xeper, I have forged my own Luck by my Will. "Luck" does belong to the realm which is out of our control. (Nicholas Rescher goes into depth on that in his "Luck: The Brilliant Randomness of Everyday Life") But how I respond to this 'deck of cards' I have been dealt is under my control. I can choose to transform the fortunate or misfortunate into catalysts for my own growth. Thereby, I make my own 'luck'. In my own hands, my own mind, my own heart, there it resides.

It is a conscious, self directed process...

Meanwhile, mute gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt 'watch' over a vast arena of gamblers protectively enclosed within a black pyramid set in American desert lands.

If these words have any meaning, it is because you have given them meaning!

Tuesday, December 6, 2005

"While Waiting"
7:19pm

"Kashmirs in Earthquake: Father keeps his sick children warm while waiting at a Nato hospital"

That was the caption to the original newspaper photo, showing a man whose face had such character to it. I hoped to capture his worry, concern and hardship in my sketch last Tuesday. I did it while waiting impatiently at Sky Harbor airport, having learned my plane was delayed. It turned out to be 'delayed' two hours, and eventually cancelled, as we were then boarded on a later flight.

Wednesday, December 7, 2005

"A Meaty Topic"
8:55pm

"Holidailies 2005"
I hereby solemnly vow to update each day from December 7 to January 6!

Okay, forget the 'solemn' part. I'm gonna do my best to update every day, though.

What's on my mind today? Oh, you lucky readers, you get an edited version of a post I made to one of my discussion forums:

"To Eat Meat or Not Eat Meat?"

The subject of eating meat mindfully was brought up on one of my forums. I do agree with Matthew Miller:

"Becoming a mindful meat eater means acknowledging that life feeds on life, that regardless of our diet, all of our food has costs."

I respect greatly those whose conscience has led them to a vegetarian diet. However, I too confess I can't quit the meat. I gave it some thought after a rather empassioned discussion recently. The case for vegetarianism was well presented as does one responder to Miller's article:

"Everything we do impacts the environment but meat eating is the most damaging thing anyone can do on a daily basis to the earth. The statistics speak for themselves when you learn how much water, grain, land is used to produce each pound of beef and all the waste generated.

If you saw the terror in the eyes of an animal as they are being led in to slaughter, you'd never be the same. They know what is happening - I've seen it and it's unmistakable that they are fully aware and terrified.

There is serious denial involved when we eat meat -- of course it tastes good. A fried piece of your left butt cheek would probably also be quite tasty if you didn't know what you were eating."

Yes, we can become numb to what's going on, indeed. Yet, 'life does feed on life', and many animals themselves are carnivores. Still, shouldn't we humans be better? I felt my conscience powerfully torn. However, my thought didn't last too long. Just a couple of days afterwards, I looked at the menu at the 'Nile Deli', and the only thing that appealed was a hot dog! (Also, other sandwiches would have been much too big, and I feel far worse about wasting food than eating meat, because then whatever it was, fish or fowl, it died in vain, and went to garbage.)

I think for my body, small amounts of occasional beef, pork and chicken are good, in addition to fish. I don't think soy and nuts would satisfy my protein needs. Also, many vegetarians try to get their protein from milk and cheese. Yet I'm best to stay away from cow's milk, especially cheese, if I want clear lungs free of mucus and better sinuses. For my health, small amounts of meat are good. Not the huge portions so many have become accustomed to eating, this would not be healthy. So I try to go for organically grown sources when I can. We buy the 'cage free' eggs. And, of course, I try to eat lots of fruits, veggies and grains.

It's a complex issue. The fish, too, are getting endangered. Not only that, some have mercury in them. So it's a sad mess. The real problem is that humans are getting too numerous for our fragile earth to support. But what to do? If the intelligent and aware reduce their child births, that won't stop those who aren't from having large families. If a mandate is made limiting childbirths, like they did in China, that takes away from people's freedom.

The solutions need to be looked at from several angles. They still aren't researching alternative fuels. Despite our best efforts to keep the drillers out of the Alaska wilderness, as fuel resources get used up, there will be more pressure to drill there.

It's a very complex situation, with many things interdependent on each other. Just quitting what little beef, pork and chicken I eat wouldn't really add to the situation. Or am I just telling myself that because it's convenient? If people en masse became vegetarian, of course, there'd be more fish farms and less cow, pig and chicken farms. But I can't quit the meat. I am a carnivore. And what ever the primates started out being, I've seen evidence of flesh eating ones. (In 'Winged Migration', some primates were filmed which have developed a taste for flamingos. They tore into them with great greed.)

I think meat eating is just part of the food chain. It's just terrible that such cruel things are done to the animals to obtain it. But again, it's overpopulation and pressure on farmers to produce more with less, hence feeding them corn and antibiotics and treating them so cruelly, cramming them into such tiny cages, and so forth. If more people insisted on better farming methods, then the farmers would find it financially productive to take the resources and time to do better.

If you think I'm copping out, I respect your thoughts on the issue. However I've wrestled with this issue as best as I can at the present. Perhaps at a later date, I will have different ideas.

Meanwhile, we should put as much effort as possible into perserving as many untainted wilderness areas as possible. So much more work could be done with that. If the animals' habitats are kept sacrosanct, then more animals will be safe.

Roar!!!

Thursday, December 8, 2005 A

"Still Chewing that Meat"
6:18am

"Holidailies 2005"
Determined to update each day from December 7 to January 6!

As I sit before my breakfast of salmon and toast, I continue to rehash the thoughts which began earlier. How can I 'walk lightly upon the earth?' I think for me, the best ways are the following:

1. Make as little waste as possible. 'Reduce, recycle, reuse', it's not just good for the environment, it's good for the budget.

2. Don't just 'consume for the sake of consuming' in all aspects, buying, eating, etc.

3. Not just 'take' but 'give', give back the energy I take in a variety of ways.

4. Eat more fruits, veggies and grains and watch portion size. It's not just good for the environment, it's good for my health.

5. Maintain grateful attitude towards all that sustains me.

That said, I don't want to sound like those who have gone overboard and sound like I feel guilty for my very existence. I don't. I understand 'life is messy'. Still, an intelligent balance insures the best outcome.

Thursday, December 8, 2005 B

"A Happy Year"
9:34pm

"Holidailies 2005"

I got the xmas letter written:
http://www.aztriad.com/xmas2005.pdf

Yes, it may sound annoyingly perky to some of you. It was a happy year for Julia and I, and I realize not all of you have been so fortunate. But I figure we're overdue. I'm SO glad I don't have to report that anyone close to us has died: 2002-Laura, 2003-Julia's mother, 2004-my mother, that was rough. And so in the look back while writing this letter, I really appreciate that we did have so many lovely experiences this year.

I will go this weekend to have a bunch of them printed up.

Friday, December 9, 2005

"Surprising"
9:34pm

"Holidailies 2005"

I began my exploration of what I'd do for the Friday Illo theme of Surprise in the spontaneous, intuitive way I enjoy, and I must say, I was surprised by the results when I finished:

But I can't say I'm TOO surprised, for no doubt this picture was influenced by my recent stay at the Luxor pyramid. That was quite a surprising place, indeed!

Saturday, December 10, 2005

"A Weighty Matter"
9:35am

"Holidailies 2005"

I took the Photo Friday theme of Weight a bit literally:

If you can't quite read the number, there's a larger version underneath this smaller pic...
Nevermind, I'll say it 'outloud', 191...

"Watch portion size," oh yes, I should!

A book called "The Arthritis Cure" happened to fall into my hands, and I happened to open it right to this paragraph:

"The acclaimed study showed that obese people are more likely to develop osteoarthritis than are their slim counterparts. And no wonder! The knees and hips, which are the primary weight-bearing joints of the body, handle loads up to 2.5 to 10 times a person's body weight. This means that if you weigh 200 pounds, some of your joints may be handling as much as a ton of pressure as you walk, run, or otherwise use them. Clearly, the load on your joints can become incredibly difficult to bear as your body weight increases."

While reading that, I heard my ankle joint crack loudly in agreement as I twirled my ankle. Can I do better in 2006? Only I can answer this day by day, by the choices I make.

Sunday, December 12, 2005 A

"A Bit of Beauty"
1:21pm

"Holidailies 2005"

Having read about Jean Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast, I sought out a copy. This movie does indeed have a true mythic quality to it that comes through despite the age of the film. Back then, they didn't know how to do fake punches right. When Avenant socks Ludovic, it feels fake, that he didn't hit the face. And Belle's fainting scene, right to the ground, bam!, that was weird and fake. A fainting person wouldn't faint like that. But other than that, they did very well within the limitations of their times.

I think of the mythic quality of the 'dark and feared' character in novels, Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights, 'the Phantom' of the Opera, Angel and Spike in the Buffy series, Rice's Lestat. Julia thought of the Greco Roman Pluto and Persephone. I think of how this reflects a deeper mythos, which really isn't just a mythos, which leads right up to SET's door. Boyd's analysis figures the Beast to be Lucifer, while Beauty to be Christ. I say rather that the Beast is like Set, and the Beauty is like Horus, and it's like the coming together of the Samtaui.

Or if you're in a mind to forget all that, you can simply enjoy it as a wonderful, timeless romantic tale. I give it two thumbs and two big toes up, way up!

Weird Drawing of the Day

Sunday, December 12, 2005 B

"Not Yet?"
9:47pm

"Holidailies 2005"

Not yet?