Culture Shifting

"People are crazy
Times are strange;
I used to care
But things have changed"

-Bob Dylan

Here are two powerful articles worth your time, both excerpts from books I have recently read. The first one here is by Michael Pollan, and it articulately sums up the food system in the USA: Fast, easy, cheap. He also explains how (and why) corn is slipped into nearly 25% of the items in your local supermarket, subsidized by the taxpayer to give out empty calories fast, easy and cheap. You get what you pay for...

For more, visit his website.

The other is by Bill McKibben, author of the new release Deep Economy, which is just about as brilliant a wake up call I have ever read. He challenges the prevailing wisdom on economic growth, and shows in example after example, how more does not necessarily equal happy. He is a strong advocate of local economies, and the power behind communities. His article here has very salient and timely points from the book.

Ever since Rodney King let out those simple words "Can't we all just get along people?" in the middle of Southern California riots so many years ago, I always think about it.

One either gets along, or not. Situations change, people change. Different people definitely do things differently.

If it is true that "we don't see the world as it is, we see the world as we are", then getting to know how others are, might be a good start to getting along.

The World Values Survey is one place to find out more about those who live in this world with you, their values, beliefs, and how they are. Neat map, too.


For instance, on the subject of drugs, there are many different ways people choose to intoxicate themselves, or relax however you view it. Not many of them would be good for you, but there are some that are clearly less harmful than others. Depending, of course upon usage. These latest British studies reported in the Guardian, are rightly putting spotlight back on the likes of alcohol and tobacco, so long having the free ride, because of their legal status. Dangerous is dangerous, and these experts are rating what is and what is less. Interesting stuff.

If you are old enough to remember Soupy Sales, then you will most likely want to click on this link to see a short clip of him that explains why he is laughing so hard...

Could it be an unrehearsed surprise (in the form a stripper), greeting him on the usual closing gag was just a bit too much? This guy was alright. Very early days of T.V. comedy

Whole Foods, that cathedral of "organic" foods in the States, gets a once over from a British journalist on the eve of its entry into the U.K. They are nice supermarkets, as supermarkets go, and they certainly have their legions of fans, but are they really doing all they can to source local, fresh food, or are they the green version of Wal Mart?Watch this space.

Bill Maher is a pretty funny guy, and he pushes his satire right to the edge sometimes. I do not watch his show, as it is not carried here in New Zealand, but what I do see, especially his New Rules segment are quite good. Here in this YouTube clip he decides he has had enough of having his patriotism challenged, and asks whether the current president is even a patriot.
Ouch.



Well, you know it had to come. Perfect for the Japanese, that love to talk and smoke, this Cigphone has everything you need right at your fingertips. A must have gadget, I will not have..

Reading Writing and Eating

" Eating is an agricultural act"

-Wendell Berry

I love writing.

I don't put pressure on myself to come up with ideas to write about, or set any deadlines to meet, which means I will probably languish in the realm of under paid and under published for an indeterminate amount of time.

But that is OK.

It is more the process (and challenge) of putting together the myriad of ideas and thoughts streaming through, seeing how they can be communicated articulately that is most enthralling to me. I takes me out of my self for awhile, and opens the window of concentration a bit more. It is good practice.

As Julia Cameron says bluntly in her encouraging Right to Write:

"Not writing creates self obsession. Self obsession blocks connection with others. Self obsession blocks connection with self."

For her, writing is a way of life, one that I have not yet really entered. Flirting as I do with it, the temptation is growing to make a more concerted effort to enter that world. She is a great example and lively inspiration in her books.

The Wikipedia entry for writer and 2001 Nobel Prize winner in literature V.S. Naipaul has the following quote from Joan Didion:

"The actual world has for Naipaul a radiance that diminishes all ideas of it. The pink haze of the bauxite dust on the first page of Guerrillas tells us what we need to know about the history and social organization of the unnamed island on which the action takes place, tells us in one image who runs the island and for whose profit the island is run and at what cost to the life of the island this profit has historically been obtained, but all of this implicit information pales in the presence of the physical fact, the dust itself... The world Naipaul sees is of course no void at all: it is a world dense with physical and social phenomena, brutally alive with the complications and contradictions of actual human endeavor... This world of Naipaul's is in fact charged with what can only be described as a romantic view of reality, an almost unbearable tension between the idea and the physical fact..."

Naipaul himself takes a more sweeping approach recently in a Guardian article about his roots and the lands whose histories he dissects:

"But writing was my vocation; I had never wished to be anything but a writer. My practice as a writer had deepened the fascination with people and narrative that I had always had, and increasingly now, in the larger world I had wanted to join, that fascination was turning into a wish to understand the currents of history that had created the fluidity of which I found myself a part. It was necessary for me as a writer to engage with the larger world. I didn't know how to set about it; there was no example I could follow."

Exactly. There rarely is any example to follow, and that is why I love writing. Yes, there are many published as well as unpublished wordsmiths out there, and I enjoy reading as many as I can. Reading gives me almost as much pleasure as creating through the written word. But the process of writing, - the transformation of personal direct experience and idea into language and narrative, the words that are chosen, the magical flow of subliminal energy out through the hands to what can be read and interpreted - that is a hard example to try and follow.

Any complete reader or writer would have had experience with the Grand Dame of publishing, the New Yorker, and now one can get all their back issues (over 4,000) on one convenient hard drive. Great. Call me old fashioned, but half the fun of those magazines is to flip the pages and see the cartoons amid the writing and hustle bustle of one of the greatest cities. I take the occasional article from them, but to read a screen for too long is not easy. Thats why those e-book readers won't take off. I don't know anybody that actually enjoys looking at a screen for very long periods.

Subject to both a book and a documentary, the Wild Parrots of San Francisco are getting a bit more protection from the city, to ensure their habitat stays intact and their fame grows. That is a good news story. It is the simple things that can bring so much joy.

Meanwhile, over in Australia (way over - West Australia in fact), this guy netted a cool $20,000 for riding a monster wave near the Margaret River. He would certainly be double-stoked - to be both alive, and to be a winner. Well done.

Whilst still in San Francisco (where else?) a new subculture of neo-nomads, who fancy themselves a bit like the Bedouin, like their coffee strong and their wireless free, and are doing business the way they want to in wired cafes around the city. It used to be the garage or dorm room was the success story for tecchies, now it looks like the place of choice for successful new start-ups will be some wired cafe in the back streets of the Mission District. Wait for it.

Remember this lady? The fired NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak, part of a love triangle of astronauts that went awry, tried to kidnap her rival and well, basically lost the plot.
The before and after pictures speak volumes about either the air up there, or why some people should definitely stay on the meds..

And you thought your job was stressful!

"It was written I should be loyal to the nightmare of my choice."

- Joseph Conrad
Heart of Darkness

Two Monks and a Turning Tide

Two monks were arguing about a flag.
One said: "The flag is moving."
The other said: "The wind is moving."
The Buddha happened to be passing by.
He told them: "Not the wind, not the flag; mind is moving."

Mind is moving. And does it cover some ground.

It has taken me a few days to re-connect all my bodies from the rigors of long haul flights and doing family large in the States, and except for its minor physical setbacks, the trip has left me mentally and intellectually invigorated.

It feels as though the tide is turning.

Sympathetic vibration is not a term I use frequently, but it seems to encapsulate much of the feeling I got recently in the States from those whom I spoke, from the places I visited, and what I read. It has been a long 6 years, and the momentum for change, the drivers for change seem in place and almost like an idling race car at the starting line, ready to roll.

In particular I refer to the inextricably linked lifestyle of excess fossil fuel consumption/global warming/ industrial food system that has been chugging along at a totally unsustainable rate for the last 60 years with disastrous consequences. George Bush's administration have in some ways ironically helped the catalyst for change by "throwing fuel on the fire", instead of looking for ways to dampen the flames. It is now a raging inferno, and many more can see it, including some in his own political party.

But as Al Gore states emphatically in his Oscar winning documentary "An Inconvenient Truth", it is "moral issue rather than a political one". That really got me thinking. I have a daughter, she will someday have children, and what is it that we will be leaving them in terms of a planet? What kind of biodiversity? What kind of atmosphere? What kind of society?

Although Gore has his fair share of critics (both about the message and the messenger) no one in my opinion has done more in terms of educating and raising awareness of the causes and solutions to the most pressing issue of our times than the man who won the popular vote for presidency in 2000. He may be leaving a larger carbon footprint at the moment, but his message for action is getting through, and that will reduce everyone else's (including his) in critical mass.

Partly because there is a new race on, and partly because of the Oscar success, he is everywhere in the media now. Rolling Stone explains why he should run again, and how he can win; The Guardian argues those who criticise him as hypocritical need to look at the bigger picture; and The New Yorker sums up his overall situation quite articulately as usual.

Back here in New Zealand, food miles are a big issue for our growers, and as I have often written, the food traveling around the globe is not going to last. Start getting used to eating what is in season. Time magazines cover story this week is calling local food the "new organic". Our Prime Minister is weighing in big time, positioning the country as a sustainable and efficient place in which to purchase produce, most of which is shipped by sea. Perhaps. But this is political posturing for the most part, in order to do something about a growing fear from our food exporters that they may be cut out of important markets in Europe etc. She may be correct that we do have more efficient production methods due to our favourable climate, but is missing the point really. Why are we exporting our kiwis and apples to Europe, and buying ones from Chili and California in our supermarkets? Our lifestyles and habits need to change on a personal and societal level, and the markets will respond.

To protect the markets by continuing to support unsustainable practices is the same thing the U.S. did after WWII with all the extra ammonia nitrate. As Michael Pollan explicitly talks about in his best seller The Omnivores Dilemma, a new industry was set up to utilise all the leftover chemicals from the war and it essentially replaced agriculture. , As efficient as it may have been in producing more food and reducing prices, we might as well have been sipping petroleum directly, for it has had about the same results economically and physically .

When I say the tide is turning, it comes from the heart of change in the U.S. the State of California, and from there, the Bay Area has always been a leader in social and cultural issues. Local Food Challenges such as the one Locavores have instigated have done much to raise the awareness of those in the outlying areas how they can eat in season, and where they can get the food they need any time of year. Both the SF Chronicle and the Pt Reyes Light, places I have just recently visited, have articles here and here supporting their efforts. Brilliant.

Whole Foods, the once proud and mighty chain of stores leading the organic movement in the States, is even coming under increasing fire from many sides as it tries to reconcile its growth with the original core values of supporting local farmers and providing quality organic food.

Again, Pollan from Omnivores Dilemma in describing Big Organic now in the States:

"For better or worse, these are not the kinds of farms a big company like Small Planet Foods or Whole Foods does business with today. It's simply more cost-efficient to buy from one thousand-acre farm than ten hundred-acre farms. That's not because those farms are any more productive, however. In fact, study after study has demonstrated that, measured in the amount of food produced per acre, small farms are actually more productive than big farms; it is the higher transaction costs involved...The industrial values of specialization, economies of scale, and mechanization wind up crowding out the ecological values such as diversity, complexity, and symbiosis".

And so it goes. Buyer beware.

Once Wal Mart decided to start selling "organic", one had the suspicion there would be a direct effort to manipulate the focus from local and quality to price and distribution as the main driver. Sure enough, that it what has happened, and in the world of food politics, one has to move quickly to counter such efforts. These local groups and blogs are doing a wonderful job of disseminating critical information.

Can you meet all your dietary requirements within a 100 mile (160km) radius?

Something to think about and plan as we start to enter a new paradigm around living on this earth in a way that will allow others to use it after us.

Hotel California

12 hours is a long time to sit in a 600 mph metal projectile at 35,000 ft. Actually, 12 hours is a long time to sit anywhere. The conditions are not natural in large commercial aircraft, and so even the lure of recent Oscar standouts such as Babel and The Departed could not keep me from sedation and boredom.

However, the Bay Area Rapid Transit is a well thought out enterprise. My daughter and I slipped effortlessly onto a waiting BART train from the airport and arrived in my sisters North Berkeley neighbourhood a bit over an hour after landing in San Francisco direct from Auckland. Not having traveled together for well over a decade, it was full of laughter and fun, and continued through the week as we were shuffled from one party to another around the region in the lead up to the big event - my sisters wedding. Immersed in the not uncommon realm of the lost immigrant son/brother from the New Zealand, I was then totally enthralled by a lovely diverse and eclectic group of nearly 100 friends and family gathered together on a damp coastal Marin winter weekend for the occasion my sister waited 55 years to plan.

And plan she did. As an artist and designer, everything from the invitations to the table setting quotes and accompanying rocks all had her individual touch of class and elegance. The groom-to- be here, after one of many late nights, naps through some last minute details he probably would not have wanted to know about anyway...

After the first venue burnt down unexpectedly a month before the date, there were some severe panic sessions, but eventually all was meant to be. The Olema Inn hosted the reception, and a beautiful home in the Nicasio Valley with some sort of shady link to Jerry Garcia catered the actual ceremony(Marin was home to much of the creative zeitgeist in the heydays of the late 60's and 70's Bay Area).

Everyone from SkyWalker (George Lucas) to PlanetWalker (John Francis) lives there, and many have done a great job in their own way of protecting the area from excess development. remaining as gorgeous and pristine as ever. Pt Reyes has always been a favourite area of Lyn and Ken's, so to have the weekend spread out over a number of different Inns and restaurants was very fitting in the end.

The night before the ceremony, after a lively 80th birthday dinner for my mother,we all went to the local Rancho Nicasio Valley Restaurant, a great local pub in the middle of nowhere, for some fantastic blues by the Lara Price Band. If you have never seen 60 yr old ranchers dancing with their wives next to couples spanning the entire spectrum of, well, everybody, then get on down there... I mean it is like, sooo California.

"West Marin" as it is known, has been on the vanguard of political and social change for many a decade, and the number of hybrid cars per capita must be the highest in the U.S. Just the day before, the Tour of California, the states version of the biggest sporting event on earth, came barreling through and had huge support. My mother was out with thousands of others in her home town just north to cheer them on.

Sebastopol is a small Sonoma County rural town-turned-vineyard-boomer-hippie mecca near Santa Rosa. It borders Marin county, and is north of San Francisco by about an hour. My own university days from the area bring back memories of the many rivers and rustic VW van trips through lush redwood forests to communes in the surrounding expansive countryside. I did manage to attend some classes however, and the beauty in Somoma, Medocino, and Humboldt counties is still as vibrant as ever. My mother is an active resident of the quite liberal artist community here. Although my perspective about this part of California is somewhat tainted by the surge in population after 20 years in the other end of the Pacific, nothing can take away the natural beauty and good intentions of many of the progressive residents.

I was in Sebastopol to get my mom down to the wedding, and get through the maintenance list on her house, which I enjoy. I was also to deliver a gift parcel to a local resident from a friend in Australia.

Naturally, the only place to find her on a Friday would be on the main street corner of town in the weekly peace protest. The opposite corner had some guy with a placard full of pictures of soldiers, and so the giant 4WD pickups honked at him and revved their engines at the Peace Girls. Apparently that is some kind of message of support or otherwise. There were "V" peace sign of 30 years ago as well, and it felt like I was in a bit of a time machine. I posed the question that it could be possible to both support the troops and bring them home, but that irony seemed lost on most.


No visit to the Sonoma area is complete without the Russian River and a local vineyard experience. My mother had a favourite one all planned out, one she had hoped to visit for some time.

Naturally, it had a sculpture walk and meditation hut, amongst beautiful grounds. Highly recommended, Paradise Ridge has the ultimate view over the valley, along with very elegant winery and function facilities.



A cabin on the Russian River had long been a dream for family in the Bay Area, and recently some of them got a little cottage near the town of Healdsburg. It was definitely winter when we stopped by for a visit, but the charm and character is always there, along with the majestic redwoods. It served as a superb day of rest in a hectic week, even though the water levels were quite high. Naturally, it had wireless broadband for us mobile bloggers... Way to go folks!

So, the bride and groom are in Baja warming up for the next stage of their lives, I am back in New Zealand on Waiheke and my lovely Karakia Coast, on the tractor and living as deliberate and purposeful as I am able. This particular Americana group of friends and family have gone their respective ways, and I will look forward to seeing them again soon. All is said and done that will be for the time being, and another chapter is opened..

Best wishes always to Lyn and Ken, and to all who made the occasion what it was - friends, family and whanau from near and far.

Rumi lent words of wisdom during the ceremony, as fitting for marriage as they are for all our own particular journeys through relationship:

The minute I heard my first love story
I started looking for you, not knowing how blind I was

Lovers don’t finally meet somewhere,
They’re in each other all along..

If You Leave Me, Can I Come Too?

If you are one of the many that have absolutely had it with holidays like Valentines Day, you are not alone. Songs for the Dumped, whilst not all that tactful, has found a place in our cultural repertoire at this time of year. My favourite is the title of this post. The list is not exhaustive, but NPR does a good job of making an offering for all those whom this holiday is just a bit smarmy and overdone.

There is certainly no dearth of events, festivals and activities for those in love or not, in New Zealand's all-too-short but spectacular summer. Long holiday weekends seem to be as common as the Vegemite that traditionally accompanies them. Not many seem to care or know much about the history or reasons behind them, but a day off is a day off...

Here on The Rock, we have had the Sculpture on the Gulf, The Waiheke Wine Festival, CultureFest, Little Day In, Outdoor Cinemas, Whakanewa Regional Park Opening, and Waitangi Day and Anniversary Day all in the last month. No one can accuse the planners of not taking advantage of this window they have to lure Auckland visitors out here.

In between that, I am going to squeeze in two weddings, try to grow some good grapes and olives, and be a host to the stream of visitors that are lured to the magnificence that is the Hauraki Gulf.

Sculpture on the Gulf is fast becoming a regular feature on the New Zealand artist trail, and the surroundings could not afford a better backdrop for some of the local talent to showcase their latest works.

I would normally take the walk along the Pohutakawa lined seashore anyway, and to have it so decorated with artworks is just another treat for visitor and resident alike. Air temp 23 deg C, water 20 deg C. The islands long history of catering for and supporting artists continues.

Elsewhere in New Zealand, one of my favourite musicians came to play in one of those outdoor vineyard concerts, and the promoters did not bother to find out enough about Eric Clapton to know he is a non-drinker, and promptly named a vintage of their local drop after him to mark the occasion. Oops.

I just happened to be making a trip up to the US next week, and of course in the only in America file comes this outstanding story of the crazed, in love astronaut driving 900 miles in diapers and weapons in the trunk to deal to her rival for the affection of another astronaut. Do they time these things for Valentines Day, or just write them to boggle the imagination?

Houston, she has problems..

Oh, and let's not forget about the 363 tonnes ($US12Billion) of cash sent to Baghdad shortly after that very well thought out invasion and occupation a few years back. Well, it seems there is precious little information as to where it might have gone, or what it was spent on. Unbelievable really.

Before I have my afternoon nap, I can rest assured I am doing something solid for my heart and my health, according to the latest research in this BBC article. That is the kind of news I like.

Remember Carl Sagan? Yeah me too. Don't worry, he isn't on tour. As it turns out, he passed away about 10 years ago, and his partner/collaborator is giving us another glimpse into his vast understanding of the cosmos and life's origins by publishing some of his most important lectures. In these heated times of God v Science 2.0, his articulate and non threatening belief in the vastness of the universe is a bit of relief. Well worth a read.

Dry Your Eyes

And it taught us more about living
Than we ever cared to know
But we came to find the secret
And we never let it go

And it was more than being holy
Oh it was less than being free
And if you can't recall the reason
Can you hear the people sing

Right through the lightning and the thunder
To the dark side of the moon
To that distant falling angel
That descended much too soon
And come dry your eyes

Come dry your eyes.

- Neil Diamond

The groom strode purposefully down the beach, head held high with pride and exhilaration. Behind him were best friends from around the globe, and waiting at the hand made alter (see above) were a small and curious group of family and friends. The feet were bare, the eyes became moist, and the sand soft. A light breeze blew along the seashore as he waited patiently for his destiny to appear.










Dad escorted the lovely young bride at the end of a procession which included a pied piper, and bridesmaids, all looking gloriously bedazzled by the occasion, as were many of the witnesses.

This was not an ordinary wedding, but the "union of free spirits", I was told.

And so it was.

The party went on well into the night at the local Boat Club in Russell, fancifully decked out by friends to cover the salt and stodge of the many yachties that pass through this famous portal of the Pacific. When I too,got married in a boathouse in Puget Sound in Washington State, this bride was not even born, and the groom was 9yrs old.

Like so many of these celebrations, it is a time of remembrance, of story, of appreciation, and of family. This story has the immigrant son wandering the globe and landing on an island in New Zealand where his life is changed completely by the people he meets, one of whom he soon marries. Everyone is happy in this moment. And with the tribal drumbeat of our complex relationships to each other, to the earth, and to larger humanity, so continues all of our stories.

Come Dry Your Eyes.

Only The Lonely

How does it feel
To be on your own,
With no direction home?
Like a complete unknown,
Like a rolling stone?

-Bob Dylan

She walks her dog most days along the main roads, disheveled hair and bright red lipstick smeared across her face in a genuine but ill-fated attempt to brighten her lips. Her clothes are third or fourth hand, and the look on her face is a mixture of concentration and bewilderment.

She can be found almost anywhere on the island, going nowhere, coming from nowhere, but still moving forward. The polka dot dresses and sneakers can be spotted from a distance, but the solitary figure and her dog give are part of the community, rather than a discarded homeless statistic. Who knows her story? Does it matter?

Yesterday, she was alone, without the dog, and without any movement or purpose. She sat on the bus stop with her large red sun hat, staring the ground. No bus can take her where she is going, no friendly chats are forthcoming with The Lady in Red.


I am told by long time residents that 20 or 30 years ago, the marginal, the disenfranchised, the eccentric, and the artists (who sometimes were a combination of all of the above), flocked to Waiheke Island. Some perhaps had no choice, and were guests of the State, others saw an opportunity for the natural beauty, isolation, and mystique to inspire and invigorate. It set the tone, which still exists, slightly hidden amidst the recent invasion of Large Black SUVs, trophy homes, and vineyards as the trendy Playgrounds of the Wealthy.

Diversity is nothing if not enlightening. We often see others not as we see ourself, but as different. For some that is a challenge and opportunity, for others a threat. But we are in this together, no matter how high a wall we may try to put around us. No man is an island, as the saying goes.

With a number of countries surpassing a billion in population, and The Good Old US of A now at 300million, one would think that making and keeping connections with others would have become easier, not more difficult, especially with the growing number of devices and tech advances that make it easier for busy people to keep in touch. Apparently not so. Whether you call it social isolation or disconnectedness, for many people plain loneliness is a haunting presence lurking over their shoulder day and night. One in four Americans now live alone, compared to just 10% in 1950, according to this AP article. Everyone has their own way of coping, and some do not.

Contrast that with the many who have the good fortune to live long and fulfilling lives; taking their opportunities to appreciate every day, and to share their knowledge, wisdom, experience and creativity gained in the process. These are the real leaders for the new world.

A good example is this brilliantly witty essay from Joseph Epstein, reflecting on the changes in life upon reaching that most profound of decades, the 70s. Very well worth the read. And the Guardian's David Thompson recently had an overview of successful artists in their 70s, not the least of whom is Clint Eastwood, making the best films of his life.



Families are scattered all over the island on this holiday weekend, on their yachts, in the campgrounds, or crammed into the many baches sprinkled over the hills and coastline. Some are happy, some are not. Some are wealthy, some are not. They are together, with their friends and families and colleagues and sometimes complete strangers. We are tied together in this knot of complex, interwoven and changing relationships throughout our lives.

Whether we have a large circle of friends to call on, or a small one, it can be the lifeblood of our interaction in this world of increasing complexity and uncertainty. Our inner strength is a reservoir that can fluctuate with the seasons or the reasons. Certainly it needs replenishing with the support of close association with others, either in this world or in another...

While on families, one of the weddings I am attending this summer had a pre-Big Day picnic down by waters edge this weekend, many of the family and friends having traveled all the way Down Under from Europe for the occasion. They seem to be certainly enjoying the relaxed summer season and vibe here after leaving Northern Hemisphere temperatures not worth mentioning. We talked about the whanau, the fairies, and the New Zealand way of life, amongst good food, good company and frisbee.

Because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn like fabulous roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue center light pop and everybody goes "AWWW!"

Jack Kerouac
On the Road
1957

Many people come and go in my life. I am grateful for the practice and the experience each and every one has given me, even if it is buried all Freudian-like deep in my subconscious somewhere. Some stay that I want to go, others go that I want to stay, but the point is this(and there is a point): Our story is unique to us, and it can be refreshingly healthy to share the common threads with others close, knowing we are not alone in this most mysterious and marvelous of journeys. We may at times feel lonely, and that can actually be a very precious gift of solitude. The only constant we can be sure of in this world is change however, and it can come in an instant without any warning. So be prepared.

The Lady in Red will keep on walking in different directions until she stops. I will see her again tomorrow and be reminded once again of the temporal nature of this life. She may be lonely, but she is not alone.

Spiritual Maturity?

"The minute I heard my first love story
I started looking for you, not knowing
how blind that was.

Lovers don't finally meet somewhere.
They're in each other all along."

-Rumi

My sister gets married next month in California. A friend that lives nearby here on Waiheke gets married the week before up in the Bay of Islands, a beautiful part of New Zealand. I will attend both and support their commitments to shared lives together. There will no doubt be celebrations worthy of the institution and the wonderful people taking part. A social fabric that at once is both revered and heavily criticised, still holds court all over the world in ways that no other pact does between two humans.

We are inherently social creatures. Our ability to work together in sustainable ways to leave a better planet for our children is not helped by the rising level of single person households, a trend happening in all "developed" countries with populations that can afford such luxuries. Still, there are a number of creative accomodation arrangements emerging through either necessity or desire. To have both community and harmony (often difficult), intimacy and solitude (often necessary), is an area of life that challenges cultural immunity. Any experiment outside cultural norms, and protection comes swiftly and often severely. One of the backlashes from the 60's and 70's communal movement is the current hijacking of American society by the religious right.

Extended families, or "whanau" is a concept embraced heavily amongst the Polynesian cultures, and whilst not necessarily a link through blood alone, the strong connection and sense of responsibility is there, and the support for the youngsters is shared and diverse. That was definitely one of the most positive aspects of my communal experiment, and my daughter agrees now 20 odd years later. The care was both genuine and unconditional.
Whatever works.

John Schumaker writes extensively in In Search of Happiness about personal satisfaction and the quest for some "thing" that becomes more and more unattainable in current times. In this article, he explains how the ancient Greek philosophers used to equate happiness with virtues such as loyalty, friendship, moderation, honesty, compassion and trust. Today, it is more about what we think we need to own, or who we need to be with in order to be happy. The conspiracy, as he calls it, is not driven by our genetic disposition, but rather our cultural attitudes, and is not sustainable. The Greek virtues, the Navajo hozho ("may you walk in beauty") are conditions that do not rely on any type of self gratification, which never lasts. They either exist or they do not. The question begs asking then, if something is not lasting, how real is it?

"Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle: some things are within our control and some things are not".

-Epictetus

Indeed. And as the Talmud says wisely, "we do not see the world as it is, we see the world as we are". In another clever NY Times piece called "Help, I am Surrounded by Jerks" (sound familiar?), we are made aware of the growing plethora of material available to help us deal with "difficult people". Whether you take a seminar, read any number of books, or listen to tapes, it all comes down to realising (either through pain of experience, or good fortune), that we cannot control anyone (or anything for that matter), only our reactions or responses.

Real spiritual maturity begins then with the ability to allow events beyond our control to weave their inevitable way through our lives without letting them rock our foundations.



Not at all difficult are the tuis, or parson birds, that have been especially prolific around Rocky Bay this summer, with the consistent flowering of trees and shrubs providing ample meals and good nests...

This one stays perched outside my bedroom window early each morning, and making sure I am up at the right time.

Widespread in New Zealand, they have an iridescent sheen, with the most conspicuous feature being the white tuft of feathers on the neck.

With a noisy flight and fluid, melodic song, it is certainly one of the true delights amongst the many companions in the forest. Another reminder perhaps of wider perspectives on the nature of divinity and spiritual understanding.


The Holy Men covering themselves in ash and bathing in a dirty (sorry, holy) river every year in Allahabad in India have other concerns. They won't have problems dealing with "difficult people"; they are no doubt beyond that. They will miss the song of the tui as well. When you live in a country with a billion others, difficult can be a relative term. The rituals and the ceremonies that "talk story", as the Hawai'ians like to say, may indeed have something to say, but how real are they in the overall context of this short life?

As a wise man said to me once:

Watch your thoughts
They become actions
Watch your actions
They become character
Watch your character
It becomes your destiny

And the next time someone tells you about how toxic some chemical or another is, be sure to remember that everything is at some point, including water. The key is the dosage. Whoever thinks up these stupid (and now deadly) contests on AM radio really needs to get a life, and they could start by knowing what they are doing.

I suppose we all could.

A Suspension of Disbelief

"Life is what happens to you while
you are busy making other plans"

-John Lennon

I often wonder if I am the only one that sees a totally unsustainable movie playing before my eyes when I walk into the supermarket and see Italian kiwifruit and California apples for sale here in New Zealand. NEW ZEALAND, for heavens sake, where we have spearheaded the innovation and development of these two wonderful and healthy fruits for years! Even though I have the privilege of being a consumer in the same country and proximity where they are grown, They are not available to me.

I must travel down the back roads and head out to farming country to buy direct from the grower in order to get fruit that is not flown in from half way around the world.

We are subject to the inexorable march of globalisation, with its artificially cheap products and services making us feel we are so fortunate with all our choice. We are in fact, supporting an unsustainable process of food distribution around the world. This industrialisation of our most essential of commodities is a process that requires increasingly more energy to bring goods to market than it provides the consumer. A net loss I believe it can be termed. Michael Pollan has written widely and articulately on the subject.

And the fruit can be weeks, if not months old, thanks to even more energy-hungry Controlled Atmosphere storage. Another marvellous and innovative advance in technology that allows fruit that would otherwise be eaten within days of harvest, complete with natural sugars and sweetness, to be now harvested early and stored indefinitely in order to meet specific market demands. Remember what a vine ripened tomatoe tasted like? Jeff Nield of Aternet writes here that it is possible in most places to have a healthy and nutritious diet by eating food grown within a 100 mile radius of where you live. It should not be so difficult unless one lives in an extreme climate.

Vegan chic could only come out of New York, and the demand seems to be growing for fashion without animal cruelty, and that could only be a good thing. You might be surprised at the styles and marketing some entrepreneurs are coming up with in an effort to please their discerning clients in a green yet trendy way. Whatever works for you.

Thinking big...Whether you like their "product" or not, global superstar celebrity is a saavy and successful marketing industry. The Idol series piggybacks on that understanding, but the ones that are there, have tremendous understanding of how to work media attention. Think Cruise, Bono, Jobs, Madonna, and of course known worldwide to all but still fresh to Americans, David Beckham; who has just negotiated a $50M a year contract to market football (soccer) in the states. Oh yes, he will also play for team called the LA Galaxy. Of course you have heard of it!

Condition branding sells, and to have youth, fame, fortune, and (except for the case of Paris Hilton) talent, is a potent mix attracting the highest commercial bidder who sees a big return over 4 or 5 years in merchandise and endorsements. It will be an uphill battle to try to convince Americans to embrace the beautiful game, with their own sports so well established. With a growing immigrant population, however, the challenge is there. Good luck to him. If he teams up with Cruise in a movie though, I think I might have seen enough.

Speaking of American Idol, and perhaps its franchises in many parts of the world, this Guardian article shows how off the mark they really are. I don't think I have been able to sit through a whole episode, and now that the main player has dissed my main man Bob, it is definitely OFF the list. Get a life, buddy!

A bit of nostalgia for the aging hippie crowd. 40 years since the Famous Be-In that started the summer of Love. A bit corny perhaps? But compared with the public lynchings of Middle East dictators, I would have to say not a bad effort, folks.

"One's destination is never a place, but a new way of looking at things"

-Henry Miller

Shape Shifting

"He lives well who is well hidden"

-Rene Descartes

I often wonder what meaning re-create takes on in the context of todays fast paced society. Many holidaymakers are over on the island for the next few weeks, making the most of their time away from office, home, and regular routines. With an increasing amount of activities on offer for them here, is there actually any "re-creating" taking place?

I would suggest the guy that was in such a hurry he had to pass me in a carpark for heavens sake, is not taking full use of the opportunity he has here. The sign upon landing at the car ferry says "Slow Down -You're Here". That is just one of the reminders we have for visitors. Is it possible for people to change gears when they are on holiday, or is it now just another duty to be checked off the list of things to do, a latte-fueled charge down to the beach with Blackberry in hand, checking emails and keeping the motor on the SUV running, just in case?

If "work" and "play" were not words that had such emotive images attached to them, it might be a different story. "Work hard - Play Hard", and "Just Do It", are but two of the marketing slogans that have been imbibed in our culture of Continuous Partial Attention.

I remember the best (and perhaps the only) nugget of useful information I received out of all those years of management training and personal growth programmes. There is no such thing as Time Management. We all have the same time. 24hrs in a day. No one has any less or any more. How can something like time be managed? It is our priorities that are managed. What we do with the same time we have each day. The next time I hear someone say "there are just not enough hours in the day to get everything done", I may have to kindly point out that there isn't much chance of a change in that department. The great New Yorker cartoon recently had two men standing at Stonehenge and quipping, "Now that we have invented time, perhaps we should create deadlines".

Perhaps indeed... We wouldn't want to miss anything IMPORTANT, would we?

I think often about what is really important in my life, and what simply is part of an interruption-driven desire to meet somebody else's expectations. Sure, we all have clients, bosses, friends, relatives, spouses, etc. that ask for our time, that most valuable of resources. This needs looking at from a wider perspective. For in each present moment, there is an opportunity to improve our lives, as well as the lives of others by our example. To re-create is an important part of that process.



It is not a difficult process, believe me, as demonstrated New Years Day, with some "quality time" amongst friends in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand:

Notice the distinct lack of activity. An important part of the "re-creation" programme!

The iconic kiwi shed, long recognised for the healing qualities it brings out in male energy, works just as well in the formation of long term relationship building(I have been visiting this couple on their two acre plot for over a decade).

Fresh veges from the garden, avocados from the tree, and ice tea on the veranda. Thanks Paula and Robin!

Meanwhile..

On another plane (or planet) altogether... quote of the week, has to go to the US Secretary of State, Ms Rice, who has implored Iran and Syria to "end their de-stabilising behaviour" in the region of Iraq.

Eh? Who took these people off their meds?

And what is sending in 150,000 soldiers occupy a country for 3 years, creating untold amount of suffering and chaos, after bombing the infrastructure to the dark ages considered? Stabilising?

Gimme a break.

Example is not the main thing in influencing others, it is the only thing.

-Albert Schwietzer

Days Like This

When it's not always raining
there'll be days like this
When there's no one complaining
there'll be days like this
When everything falls into place
like the flick of a switch
Well my mama told me, there'll be days like this

-Van Morrison

The calendar shows new numbers. The old one lies in the bin. The sky shows great promise of warming the ground and the air for us to continue to harvest its bounties. Christmas and New Years have come and gone once again, like they will. An inconspicuous ex-president, a Middle East Frankenstein and the Godfather of Soul all pass away to deal with whatever they need to deal with...
So begins 2007.

Kiwis love to flock to the outdoors, and boats are showing up in all the bays, tents in the parks and a general push outside to embrace a reluctant summer. I know it must be the holiday season when I see joggers on Waiheke. Still, as the water slowly warms , I can slip effortlessly amongst the elements. I Step into Liquid, as the film says, along with my family of Paradise Ducks, soon to be off on their own, but still braving the increased human and dog presence on the foreshore. Won't be long now.

I trust many will be enjoying what nature has to offer at this time of year, even if it is in the Northern Hemisphere, where the days are shorter. Down here, if you are still spending too much time at the keyboard and monitor when the beach and bush beckon, you might want to check out this New Scientist article on modern cyber-maladies that threaten your well-being. There, amongst the confessions of a wikipediholic, a MySpacer, and cyberchondriac, are yet a few more social cues to give us a pause for concern. Or not.

Whilst still on the cyber theme, it is said in this article, there are two types of people: those who backup their PCs, and those who will. If you have ever lost any valuable info, you know what I mean. Fortunately, the geeks have come up with lots of great new easy ways to keep stuff from disappearing forever. If you have been too lazy to work them out or actually take the time to do it(like I was), this NYTimes article spells out the myriad of choices (which is half the problem), and makes recommendations. Well worth a read.

Feeling good this New Year? Excellent. Apparently many are not, and when a doctor comes out and writes an essay declaring the epidemic of diagnoses is part of the problem, well, I might have to agree. How about a wellness index? I'd love to hear how many of us are managing to stay away from the health care system. Anything is possible, and some things happen.

If you like hero stories, this one is a burner for you: seconds to spare in the subway, and a young man suffers a collapse, when Mr Joe Average New Yorker jumps in and rolls him to safety as the trains roll over them with inches to spare. They are already calling him the Subway Superman. Well done, Clark!

"One's destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things" wrote Henry Miller, who was an avid fan of the Big Sur area south of San Francisco. Also one of my favourite areas, the author of this travel piece samples some of the local scenery and accomodation, including that New Age mecca, The Esalen institute. Apparently it opens its famed hot sulphur pools overhanging the Pacific Coast to the public only from 1am to 3am every morning.
Gotta love it!

Holiday Season

"Beware lest you lose the substance
by grasping at the shadow"

-Aesop

This is the view out of my window towards the playground and Kauakarau Bay. Beyond that is Omiha Bay, where the Rocky Bay Memorial Cruising Club held their annual Regatta Saturday(amongst quite typical blustery summer weather conditions), Beyond that is the expansive and tidal Rocky Bay, encompassing the wider Whakanewa Regional Park.

It is a quiet and windy little settlement, with only a scattering of houses dotting the hillsides and bays. Most are empty for months of the year. But not now.

It is that wonderful and most ephemeral Time of Universal Holiday in New Zealand, where a large part of the population stops working completely and heads out to rural and beach locations to unwind for Christmas and New Years celebrations with family and friends, putting end to another calendar year of whatever it is they have been doing.

If there was any doubt the landed gentry were out in full force here in one of the trendier spots to holiday in New Zealand, Waiheke Island is awash with Big Black SUV's and other fashion accessories not seldom seem on the island, this being New Years Eve, 2006. And to make the statement complete, the tranquil park scene above, normally with just few youngsters, some dog walkers, and a friendly duck family, had the uncharacteristic commotion of a helicopter land this afternoon, in order to party a bit and inspect one of the waterfront properties. Ahem.

The tide was out on my New Years Eve walk, and in between some harmless showers, it took me through the native bush descent into the park onto its long stretch of sand and shells, nesting dotterels, and oystercatchers:

Only the recent hoof prints of some horses were to be seen, and the constant badgering of the protective dotterels were my company on this magnificent beach. I though about all the things I am grateful for - the opportunities, experiences, and people that have graced my life this past year. All the little dramas and stories that make up our individual neuroses try to force their way into my thinking at times, but both the beauty and significance of the moment were far too powerful. Rhythm and oxygen clear the head in no uncertain terms. Over an hour walking, and what many people around the world need to undertake just to survive once, twice, maybe more each day, I took as leisure. Our perspective can be as valuable as the ground under our feet.

No helicopters. No real estate mingling chit chat. No wineries and their trendy products. Just the elements in raw and unhindered natural change. A nice afternoon reflection for the last day of the year:

A few days ago, on another little summer outing to catch up with my daughter and partner, along with friends and family, I visited Gisborne for the first time in over a decade. The flat, fertile plains, now largely taken up with vineyards, still have wonderful fresh fruit stands dotting the road in from the Bay of Plenty side. We tasted the local produce with gusto, cooking up some great meals in a nicely appointed holiday home overlooking Poverty Bay and the great surf beaches of the Gisborne and Eastland Area:

Christmas revelers in amongst the
vines and lush plains around Gisborne, prior to setting off to play gigs in the Rhythm n' Vines Festival.

Not too bad, really.





Much better time than this guy, anyway:

Which may have reminded me of some Christmas past, but we don't need to go there! It has been a pleasant Holiday Season for me, a balanced mix of social activities and parties coupled with restful and contemplative personal time. There has been some fun reading and regular writing. May we all be so fortunate as to know when enough is enough.

Then perhaps we will all have enough.

State of the Union

To know that enough is enough is to always have enough

-Tao

If you are a reader, then online magazine Slate has its top picks for books of 2006 here. NPR radio has its picks from booksellers here. I have a couple lined up for the Christmas holiday break (in New Zealand that usually means at the beach, so for Northern Hemispherites, well, it might be a different sort of list). I just finished a great novel by Douglas Kennedy called State of the Union, that I happen to pick up at an airport on my way to the South Island, and was pleasantly surprised. A real page-turner that kept me guessing, laughing, crying, and most of all, thinking. Well written.

Another in the Only-In-America Dept: Yoga and Wine retreats, reviewed by NYTimes.
Well, it had to come, didn't it?

On the serious side of yoga, if you are a devoted follower, this Columbia Journal Review has an excellent history of its turbulent entry into the West.

Not into yoga, but thinking of getting married? OK then. I am going to two weddings soon myself, one in California, and one down here in New Zealand. This YouTube video clip of "honest" wedding vows is hilarious, although I would not probably show it to the couples on the verge of reciting theirs just yet.

If marriage is not on the cards just at the moment, but you are wanting to increase your "mingling" (called networking by the PC brigade, which is far more professional sounding) skills at Christmas parties, have no fear, this piece on NPR has just the tools for the not-so-bold.
So much useful advice!

Not getting married, into Yoga or mingling? Well, you can always get a new job by sending out a video resume that will surely get someones attention. Apparently it is the newest thing for job seekers. Whatever.

I am off to the beach for a few days, but always close at hand when one is a grower in the "season".

Best Wishes to all for Peace and Contentment in this Festive Season, and throughout the seasons.