My basic belief is that first you need to realize the usefulness of compassion, that’s the key factor. Once you accept the fact that compassion is not something childish or sentimental, once you realize that compassion is something really worthwhile and realize its deeper value, then you immediately develop an attraction towards it, a willingness to cultivate it.
~ Dalai Lama
Unfortunately, the clock is ticking, the hours are going by. The past increases, the future recedes. Possibilities decreasing, regrets mounting. ~ Haruki Maurikami
So being on lockdown for over five weeks now I have not surprisingly been thinking a lot about traveling. I have wanderlust while working in the best of times, right now my wanderlust is through the roof. Particularly when I think about the fact that even once the initial emergency subsides enough for us to go back to work and start traveling a little it still may not be safe to take trips to based on the health situations in those countries. One of the trips that’s at the very top of my list right now is a cruise to Antarctica, and I’m not thinking that a cruise is a good idea anytime soon.
So it hit me today that I’ve been off of work and sheltering in place for five weeks and four days, nearly six weeks already. I also don’t see the likelihood of being back to anything resembling normal until June first, which means another six weeks of the same. Honestly, this hasn’t been all that horrible for me, and another six weeks is absolutely doable, especially if us doing this saves more people’s lives.
One of the things I’ve been thinking about a lot this week, has been the fact that the last five weeks or so has gone by very quickly. This week in particular has flown by for me, back to back to back to back Zoom meetings several days of week will do that for you. Also, because of the lack of novelty, meaning each day is really similar to the one before and after, means that our brains file them more efficiently. We start to lose focus on each individual day, so the days seem to very much run together. It’s one of the reasons that when you’re doing something like this it gets pretty easy to lose track of what day it is. Happily so far, that has only caused me to be late to one meeting because I was confused on which day it was.
This idea of the elasticity of time is something that I’ve thought about before. You see whenever I’ve taken my years off and traveled, time seems to slow down. Even more so, during those times when I’m doing long distance hikes. A day traveling takes as long to go by as three days working, a day on a trail is the same as a week working. So it’s not surprising that right now, not only working, but having really similar work days, day after day, time feels like it’s screaming by.
I don’t like it when time flies by so fast, sure it will be nice when this time is over, but we can’t get those days and hours back and do something more fun with them. So I hope your shelter in place time is going ok, and here’s to time slowing down and allowing for happier days my friends. ~ Rev Kane
Compassion is strength
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice
compassion. ~ Dalai Lama
One of the things I admire most about the Dalai Lama is his commitment to compassion. Most recently he made the following comment:
I really feel that some people neglect and overlook compassion because they associate it with religion. Of course, everyone is free to choose whether they pay religion any regard, but to neglect compassion is a mistake because it is the source of our own well-being.
As our mission states the Ministry of Happiness is non-denominational and as such, we echo the words of his holiness, compassion should be embraced. It is important to be compassionate whenever possible and have empathy for those who deserve it.
Personally I have always taken the Taoist position on compassion, you should offer compassion whenever possible, as long as doing so will not endanger you in any way. Compassion like anything should be practiced in moderation and with care.
Compassion is sometimes the fatal capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside somebody else’s skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too. ~ Frederick Buechner
The Art of Smiling and Being Positive
As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality exist in our world, none of us can truly rest. ~ Nelson Mandela
So here we are in week four or five of our shelter in place existence. As I’ve talked about before, I’m a prepper light, so I was prepared materially for some sort of cataclysmic event that would cause me to be locked down. After listen to a particularly distressing news story today about the interruptions beginning to really show cracks in our food distribution system, I did a little calculating. I figure I have 2-3 weeks easily of regular food. I also have enough Top Ramen and the like for another 12 days, my emergency pasta, rice and bean supply probably covers another month or so and then of course a box of 10 MRE’s that give me ten more days. Finally another 2 weeks of camping meals. So without any rationing I have almost 3 months of food on hand. Even some minor rationing would give me a full 4-5 months of food.
Even more importantly though, as someone who has read and researched survival and prepping material for years, I’m also somewhat mentally prepared for this sort of thing as well. I’m someone who has home defense, bugout and obviously food reserve plans. It helps being a pretty significant introvert on the Meyers-Briggs scale and being comfortable with my own company. I’m fortunate to be in a career where I can work from home and so I still have a job. I live in an area where it’s still easy to get outside and exercise, where in 10 minutes I can take a walk on the beach. So I’ve got a pretty good situation even in the midst of a global pandemic.
I was prepared for the worry that I would have for the people I care about, family and friends all over the globe in a wide variety of places and economic conditions. Worrying about their state of mind and health is not a surprise, I was ready for that.
There were a couple of things I wasn’t ready for however. The first is the litter, sounds like a small thing I know, but litter has always really bothered me. Ever since I was a kid and clearly remember my parents taking our trash and tossing it out the window of our car in the late 60’s. Hell maybe the commercial with tearful Native American just got to me. But since this whole shelter in place thing has started I’ve been absolutely sickened by the litter. Particularly the number of latex gloves that I see everywhere on the ground, it makes me sad and angry.
The other thing I was absolutely not ready for was how glaringly and visibly obvious a situation like this would show up the level of inequality in America. I’m watching the lowest paid workers in America risk their lives to make not much more than minimum wage. I’m reading and listening stories to people dying because they are afraid to access healthcare because of the cost. At my own college it’s the IT people, the custodians and security officers who are on campus every day while the rest of us work safely from home. There are over 15 million people who have filed for unemployment in the last three weeks. This event is landing so heavily on the poor, the homeless, the under educated, underemployed, the uninsured and minority populations who fall at higher than their overall population percentages in each of these categories. It’s a big part of the reason African Americans are dying at insanely higher rates.
I knew, we knew, all of this was here. We’ve all done our bit haven’t we? But whatever we’ve done, we haven’t done enough. Our Covid Times have shown us our American shame. The wealthiest country to ever exist has far too many people who are poor, left out of the riches, under and uninsured, not educated and more susceptible to death from a tiny little virus that we cannot even see. It hurts to see this up close, my only hope, the only possible silver lining in any of this, is that as a nation we see the shame, and more importantly hold on to it after things return to normal. That through our political and social process we decide to make real change in our society. Hell, maybe we’ll pay attention to the environment and global warming as well, I mean if I’m going to dream, I may as well dream big. ~ Michael ‘Rev’ Kane
Rev Kane riding Hamren
If life gets tight, loosen it by travel – Bedouin Proverb
I’m a wanderer, I don’t stay in once place very long, I never have. I’m incredibly comfortable traveling, I’m someone who truly believes home is wherever I’m sleeping tonight. Because of this I’m often called a gypsy, mostly I think because it’s a term with which people are familiar. I could just as easily be called a Bedouin.
The Bedouin have always fascinated me and in planning my trip to Petra in Jordan, I would not miss a chance to spend some time in the desert with the Bedouin. A little plug here, I did 3 days and 2 nights in the desert with Jordan Tracks. There company was fantastic and provided us with incredible service and a wonderful tour. If you’re heading for Wadi Rum I highly recommend them.
We started out our first day by traveling to a 300 foot high sand dune. The dune was magnificent and a bear to climb, but the views on top were fantastic.
We would cruise around the desert for the rest of the day taking in the standard scenic stops. For me though, the real joy was just being out in the desert, it was both a little cold and totally comfortable in the sun. We stopped for lunch in the sun and Hevs our guide made a really wonderful lunch. Eating vegetables, humus, stewed beans and tomatoes in the sun with warm bread and tea was utterly fantastic.
After lunch we visited a slot canyon with ancient petroglyphs a truly magical place.
We would head back to the camp that night and the camp was great, even a cold night was comfortable in the tents under piles of blankets. We had a traditional Bedouin pit dinner that night and I have to say the chicken was perhaps the best I’ve ever had. More tea of course, good conversation, and a fire ended the day.
Our second day found me with a truly horrible head cold in full force. After a great breakfast we headed out into the desert and headed for the Saudi Arabia border. This part of the desert is soft sand and the colors and the texture of the sand changed. We hiked up Jebel Khash with a view of Jordan’s highest peak and far across the valley less than 7 Kilometers away we could see the border crossing into Saudi Arabia, very cool.
Hevs pointing out the highest peak in Jordan
Hevs with Saudi Arabia in the background
We would cut the day short so I could nap before dinner. Getting up that night the stars in Wadi Rum were magnificent, star shots provided by my traveling partner Kevin aka Backtrack.
The morning brought me feeling better and a camel ride back into town. I loved riding Hamren, my first time on a camel. The views were spectacular and it was an incredible peaceful morning.
Wadi Rum was magical, as the desert always is, our guide Hevs was a blast and full of personality. I loved my time in Wadi Rum and it brought me happy days my friends ~ Rev Kane
Happiness is floating on the Dead Sea
My Best Appalachian Trail Posts
Just when I think I have the way to live, life changes ~ Hugh Prather
Hello friends, man it’s been a busy few weeks and it’s not quite over yet. I’ve been very busy at work, the end of the school year is always a hectic time. However, it’s also a really uplifting time, an excellent reminder of why we do the work we do in education. A great time of year to hear some truly remarkable stories about how people’s lives have changed. Which is what brings me to what I want to talk about tonight, changes.
I love the quote by Hugh Prather, it seems to really sum up the way I’m feeling lately. Just as soon as you feel like you’ve got things worked out, well there you are, and you don’t. So you keep making adjustments, keep making changes, try and find the best way forward.
Positivity is the key, stay positive, stay focused and move forward. I’ve been busy for a lot of reasons, some of which are of course the job. Some are really positive, working on the blog, marketing my book Appalachian Trail Happiness and continuing to work toward my goal of 10,000 followers. Of course all of that is sort of my new normal these days, but there’s been a bit more going on. First, I’ve just moved. A huge change in itself I have moved from the middle of nowhere in the desert to the edge of the sort of small town at in the desert.
Of course moving all of your worldly possessions and having to scrub clean a giant house takes a lot of time. Happily I’ve done it over about three weeks which reduced the intensity, but not the level of work. I finished cleaning the house last night, it’s a relief.
A couple of parting sunset shots from the last house.
I’m excited for Memorial Day weekend, a trip up north is in order where I will get to officiate the wedding of two friends to each other, as well as see a number of people I haven’t in quite some time.
There are more changes just on the horizon but I’ll hold you in a little bit of suspense. I mean hey, I’ve got to build readership right? But I assure you the next surprise is only a few weeks away. The thing I want you all to take from this is that much like happiness, the effects of change are a choice. We can fight change but it’s a ridiculous fight, change will always happen. So you may as well get used to it, hell, maybe even learn to embrace it. Change can be a good thing, happiness can be yours, you just need to make the right choice. So tonight, as tired and worn out that I am, stubbornly writing instead of going to bed early with two early mornings in front of me, I’m looking forward and staying positive, grateful for what I am able to accomplish. I’m on a good path and good things are coming, for me and you my friends ~ Rev Kane
Happiness and the Benefits of Gratitude
Fear is Killing Your Happiness
So tonight my friends, the poetry of Hosho McCreesh, a poet I discovered in my communication with Doug Draime who recommended him to me. Not suprisingly, Doug was right on the money. Much like Doug’s work, Hosho writes the way I like my poetry, straight forward, intense like a punch in the literary gut, so good. You can see more of his writing and buy his work at HoshoMcCreesh.com Give these a read and have a happy day my friends ~ Rev Kane
**************************
10 o’clock
and the night is
slow and dull,
and someone says
“Let’s go to Vegas,”
But then you
actually go.
And you spend three days
in a hotel room
at the Sahara,
dragging the plastic
garbage can down to
the hotel bar,
and filling it with
75¢ beers, and
chucking the empties
out your twelve-story window
at the construction site
across the way,
hands around
naked hips
trying to keep
each other from
falling off the
ledge
of the sad, lonely,
and desperate
goddamned
world.
************************
The future rewards those who press on. I don’t have time to feel sorry for myself. I don’t have time to complain. I’m going to press on. ~ Barrack Obama
So what’s next my friends? That’s a question we should all be asking ourselves right now. Eventually this time of coronavirus will pass as things always do. So, what are we going to do when it’s over? You may be wondering why I’m harassing you about this right now? Don’t we have enough to worry about just getting through? Of course you do, but what’s next? I’m asking because this is a blog on happiness and part of being happy is having a purpose.
Right now we all have a really interesting opportunity. Yes, there’s a lot to be stressed about, there are challenges we’re facing while sheltering in place. Because of all of this, our nerves are a bit frayed, our emotional reserves are down to little or nothing. But one thing that can help is to have a project/goal, some reason to get up and get going in the morning. For those of you working your plate is likely pretty full. But we all still need some extra focus particularly now. It could be a lot of things.
You could take a free online course and learn a new skill or even a new career, you could decide to work your way through every free art museum collection on the web. You could decide to read a number of classic books you’ve never read or possibly work trough a list of classic movies. Maybe you throw yourself into learning a new language. For me, I’ve decided to go on 6 week fitness jaunt to see if I can further lower my blood sugar, get up to my goal of running three miles and put an inch on my biceps. If you’ve got stairs you can climb each day, then set a goal to climb the equivalent of Mount Everest. Maybe you could work on learning to cook a new style of cooking.
The most attractive idea to me, that I’ll tag onto my health project, is to start thoroughly planning my next big trip and you can do that as well. You can use the web to completely and thoroughly research someplace, work on the local language if necessary. Read a bunch of blogs by people who’ve traveled there, find out every little interesting thing you can do someplace and plan the most incredible trip.
Finally, if all else fails, you could go back and read all 1353 Ministry of Happiness posts. You’ll read about lots of great travel, some good wisdom, discover new resources, get some amazing quotes and see some fantastic photos, and after all that, you’ll certainly have some happy days my friends. ~ Rev Kane
Tonight a collection of multimedia pieces about happiness, enjoy and have a happy day my friends ~ Rev Kane
Happiness podcasts from Robert Puff, PhD podcasts on a range of topics related to happiness.
Spread Happy – a site with a number of happiness related videos to check out
How to be happy podcasts – a series of podcasts on life, relationships and happiness
Does having children make you happier? – a piece from NPR
What you need to be happier – 10 minute video lecture
LoHappiness is Poetry: Pablo Neruda
Today another one of my favorite poets, Pablo Neruda almost the polar opposite of Bukowski, Pablo Neruda immerses himself in love and beauty and of course a bit of happiness. So today, Ode to the Happy Day, enjoy and have a happy day my friends ~ Rev Kane
Glascow Scotland
The Ministry of Happiness 