love and marriage

So Perrin and I were looking at the dogs this morning, pictured above, and we were thinking that they should have a wedding ceremony.  They love each other.  But Perrin said she wasn't going to get married and so she didn't think her dog should get married either.  Hmmm.....who's going to give me grandchildren?

Meanwhile, Sam and Van (the infamous neighbor) slept outside last night in the tent - in Van's yard.  Sam came home after being in the tent 10 minutes and already had 3 mosquito bites...poor little guy.  We lathered him with bug spray and sent him back out to fight the great outdoors.

Balin is currently in Argentina.  He finally took my advice and ate Dramamine on the 10 hour flight to Salta. He said it helped tremendously and he wasn't quite as exhausted as he normally is when traveling.  Dramatic pause here.  He's been traveling for years now and I've been suggesting he take a little something to help him sleep.  I don't get it.  I just don't get it.  It's like if you have huge shin splints and you refuse to take Ibuprofen to relieve the pain and reduce the swelling. Oh wait - yeah - that would be Balin too.

So last night I had a lovely young woman over for....carrot juice (it's my new health kick - juicing vege's instead of drinking wine.  Not all my friends are fans...yet...)  She is a grad student at Prescott College and studying Social Justice.  She's great, idealistic, sweet.  So 3/4 through our time it comes out that she wants to change the world, but she likes to live in comfort.  She wants to work with the disenfranchised, poor and marginalized but wants to have the nice house, paid for car and be able to buy whatever groceries appeal at the moment.  (One of my luxuries in life I have to admit)

Our conversation was such a mirror into my life.  I want to participate in changing the world - one person at a time - but I am enamored with beauty.  Not luxury per se, but inherent beauty.  It made me think, and I continue to do so, about how one can create beauty and yet relieve suffering.  Perhaps the two are not so distant ideals.

As I train my thoughts to think about such things, alleviating suffering in my fellow brothers and sisters in not such a lofty goal, since when our minds are focused on true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy things, we can help but act out of those thoughts.