There was a time I whittled my wits for social media, a kind of “computer warrior” as a friend calls them. I sought battles that may have not been there. Seizing on one word or phrase and letting go of context.
Snark. You know the drill. I wasn’t any good at it. Zen showed me how bad I was. Embarrassing, actually.
I haven’t given up on social media. Just the opposite. Rather than preparing for battle, I just take a stand when or if it is necessary. Awareness is my armor and suits me better than snark ever did.
I’m wondering if worldwide connection is changing battle and its field. Connection is changing everything else. There is no absence of compassion but in its lack evil lurks, more patient than any of us might credit.
Awareness reveals evil as easily as compassion and in comparison, evil withers, kind of like snark, unable to stand the long light of day. Scrutiny. Either way, we are revealed; our hearts clench and open in response.
We’re seeking the security of the steadfast but awareness is shaky ground, ever shifting. And that is tiring. So why not throw some shade. Maybe give up for a while. Nothing seems to last because nothing does.
I think social media makes that clearer than any doctrine. All of life is an experience, one after another, the coming to and going from any one moment–all on shaky ground.
We’re like tectonic plates, and sometimes there’s an earthquake. And still, there is existence in spite of it all. In that, I am in awe.
So why not, as Pema Chödrön says, “be generous with your joy.”* Why not, indeed. Joy does so much with so little. Sort of like snark in that regard but joy is never-ending. Snark is more of a single position and like evil it evaporates for there is always more joy, and it comes from unusual places.
Just this past week I received a mint plant whose roots were all but bursting from the top and bottom of its plastic pot. Some strands had found their way through air holes. Life searching to stay.
I have not “shared” my apartment since feline EmmaRose left. There are fewer and fewer insects but I celebrate those who pass through. “We are always in relationship” Pema Chödrön once remarked regarding the insect in the room.
And now, it is a mint plant with rust on its leaves and a few shoots struggling for life.
I asked neighbor Grace for her expert assistance. What she teaches me about flora and fauna is such a gift. Within 24 hours, we visited the nursery where Grace once worked to select the proper potting soil, drainage rocks, pot, and tray.
It was a celebration of Grace and her years tending the native plants and the friendships of her life. She gave me the complete tour, including the goldfish pond.
When was the last time I knew such joy in the morning amid native species that somehow make room for me and my kind. Only they know why.
And that is what we brought home to the mint. With the care that comes with years of living, Grace aerated the soil around the squared roots, opening up more life, as we provided the breath of carbon dioxide.
Offering life for life. It’s existence, this joy.
*The idea of being generous with joy is from Pema Chödrön’s The Compassion Book: Teachings for Awakening the Heart, page IX.
KM Huber's Blog 
beautiful, touching blog
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For some reason WordPress was acting strangely, then my laptop shut itself off. The last sentence was supposed to end and may your mint plant live long and prosper. Technology bah!
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Bah, indeed! Thank you for persisting. I (and the mint plant) appreciate it. 🙂
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I long ago gave up “searching for happiness” as it never seemed to come. I believed those that said they were happy were lying or deluded. Letting go of the search at that point seemed like defeat but it was liberation. Slowly, in tiny moments I found laughter, contentment, peace, even joy. I realized happiness is like those strange subatomic particles that defy the laws of classical physics and recreate themselves from moment to moment. If you can see and appreciate those tiny bits you can string them together like pearls and wear them like a necklace to ward off the negative, or as you say, snark. I think you are very good at stringing pearls
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Liberation which at first seems defeat. “…Happiness is like those strange subatomic particles that defy the laws of classical physics and recreate themselves from moment to moment.” Beautiful, Angela, just beautiful. Together, we string our pearls. ❤
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Working on calming my inner snark!!
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For me, there is more calm (around) when I do. Let me know how it goes. 🙂
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That poor beleaguered mint found the perfect home.
The thought that has been rising in my mind more and more often is that we need to listen in a neutral way, not be so quick to judge, respond, or be right. We are all the product of our circumstances so I wonder, would I espouse a view I hate had my life path been the one followed by the holder of that view? Perhaps declaring something right or wrong brings on a form of blindness, an added layer that only obscures meaning.
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I think it narrows the lens, the labeling of right and wrong. And if it does, adds another layer as you say, and the meaning further obscured. I think so, Adrian. Thank you for this.
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“We’re like tectonic plates, and sometimes there’s an earthquake. And still, there is existence in spite of it all. In that, I am in awe.” Love this. And the fact that there are people all over the world celebrating their new mint plant, or puppy, or the gorgeous dinner they just shared with a friend:). Joy to you . . .
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And joy to you. 🙂
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A wonderful post, Karen – ‘there is always more joy’. So true! It is far better to build than to tear down: I wish all humanity could understand the point!
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We seem like joy for only a moment. It’s as if we believe it is transient and because we do, it is Thanks, Matthew!
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