Blog in the Family
Those of you who have been with me since the beginning will remember that one of the inspirations for my starting a blog in the first place was the excellent series of reflections that my brother had posted on his original blog about being an American living in Belgium. Well, after a hiatus, he has now started publishing again. Indeed, he has started a whole net of blogs, in which he plans to reflect upon not only his experiences living in Belgium, but also his teaching and further travels, as well as giving advice to his daughter and homage to his favorite video stars. Given that he is not only a Buddhist, but also my younger brother (ahem!), it is more or less guaranteed that there is going to be a fair amount of (ahem! ahem!) sibling rivalry at stake in my response to his blogging.
What can I say? It is in the nature of family members to disagree, particularly when they have so much in common. As, thanks to several of his recent posts, I realize that my brother and I do. We are both passionate seekers after understanding and self-awareness. We are both ridiculously over-educated in the great traditions of the past. We are both doomed to be teachers, anxious to impart to others the lessons that we have learned from our reading and reflection. We are both, in our own way, competitive, but always more with ourselves and the vision that we have of what we would like to be than with anybody else. We have both lived for extensive periods abroad. We are both parents and athletes and yogis. And, therefore, of course, we are both convinced that the other doesn't have the slightest idea of what it is that we are trying to say.
Me: "On guard."
Him: "Namaste."
See?
So be it. Perhaps there should be a rule about blogging that we are not allowed to read anything written by somebody to whom we are related closer than, say, the third degree. No cousins, no grandparents, certainly no siblings! But I'm going to risk it anyway because I want to know what my brother has to say. And being an opinionated bear, it is likely that I may write something in response--or even in praise. Which, of course, he in turn will be welcome to read. If he wants. So long as he understands that it is nothing personal, any more than it is personal when I get on the strip and do my very best to beat my opponent, hoping in turn that she will do her very best to beat me.
Who knows? I might even learn something, if I can be patient enough actually to read.
What can I say? It is in the nature of family members to disagree, particularly when they have so much in common. As, thanks to several of his recent posts, I realize that my brother and I do. We are both passionate seekers after understanding and self-awareness. We are both ridiculously over-educated in the great traditions of the past. We are both doomed to be teachers, anxious to impart to others the lessons that we have learned from our reading and reflection. We are both, in our own way, competitive, but always more with ourselves and the vision that we have of what we would like to be than with anybody else. We have both lived for extensive periods abroad. We are both parents and athletes and yogis. And, therefore, of course, we are both convinced that the other doesn't have the slightest idea of what it is that we are trying to say.
Me: "On guard."
Him: "Namaste."
See?
So be it. Perhaps there should be a rule about blogging that we are not allowed to read anything written by somebody to whom we are related closer than, say, the third degree. No cousins, no grandparents, certainly no siblings! But I'm going to risk it anyway because I want to know what my brother has to say. And being an opinionated bear, it is likely that I may write something in response--or even in praise. Which, of course, he in turn will be welcome to read. If he wants. So long as he understands that it is nothing personal, any more than it is personal when I get on the strip and do my very best to beat my opponent, hoping in turn that she will do her very best to beat me.
Who knows? I might even learn something, if I can be patient enough actually to read.
Hey, my comments option finally work!
ReplyDeleteNamaste ;-)
Oh, and, I never said that I was a Buddh-ist..., I said that "I relate to the teaching of the Buddha..." I separate the two quite clearly in my mind--Buddh-ism and the teaching of the Buddha. I have quite some issues with Buddh-ism. Namaste ;-)
ReplyDeleteHeh. So you do have a problem with "organized religion" after all, yes?
ReplyDeleteAAaargh, no blanket statements! Do I have a problem with buying into everything that any one religion has to offer, yes? That is not the same. I have issues, does not mean wholesale dismissal. Buddh-ism for one is not about "blind faith" to the organization, in fact, that goes against everything the Buddha taught. Issues does not mean the same as "having a problem with," but rather can mean, still under assessment...I plan to do a post on this very concern that I have, but not prematurely. Still thinking...
ReplyDeleteThese are not the droids you are looking for...
ReplyDeleteDouble heh. Just so you know, "blind faith" is another of my red flags. Faith is looking along the beam, not blindness. It only looks like blindness to those looking at the beam, but those looking at the beam do not see what those looking along it see. See my previous posts on C. S. Lewis' "Meditation in a Toolshed."
ReplyDelete