Curiousity – 1994ever

Are you curious about the world
Or is everything in its place?
Is every piece already set in stone
The winner chosen for every race?

Do you see what’s under your nose?
The dusty corners of darkened rooms
Comings and goings of all earthly creatures
The life and death that one presumes

When eyes open to let the light in
The world becomes majestic and grand
Life fills suddenly with meaning
And understanding begins to expand

Gratitude Journal

I am so happy and grateful for the folks who will service our car today. I hope they do a good job and are in good health and don’t catch Covid.

At Amy’s parents’ for lunch. It’s Mother’s Day this week, so it’s a family get-together. Amy said to teach up in the new room they built above the garage, and I thought, ‘why not?’, so I’m lying on their comfortable brand new sofa trying to stay awake before my class starts.

Today, George blanked me in the morning when I said hello and then again when I said goodbye at lunchtime. This annoyed me a little until I told myself to calm down and that I can’t control his actions, only my own. I let it go and feel much better.

I’m happy to have no more online classes after school and have that free time back again. It’s a great feeling, and I still wish I had all day, every day, free! Still, it’s not so bad. I’m really enjoying teaching at the moment, and it looks like it will be for the whole semester. The students and I are pretty locked in now.

Popcorn at the Buddha house
Everything for sale
Rubbish piles up mountain high
Incense blows away
There seems no peace
Outside this house
Can you find peace inside yourself
It’s hard for me to say

27th Aug 2021 – Vivian had a day off work and took me to a Buddhist temple, at least I presume it was Buddhist. I have no idea where it was or what it was called. Maybe the Hongfa Temple? We got a taxi there and it felt like the area was a little less developed at that time. From what I’ve since learned about these temples I’m guessing it was on a hill and facing the water. The temple was big and the incense smoke cloying but obviously what stood out most was the trash, both for sale and as rubbish piled in plain sight. I would come to understand this garbage phenomenon a little more into the trip. I also quickly learned the Chinese word for rubbish (垃圾) having to tell every walking talking hawker that I didn’t want to buy theirs! I was still quite a lot in culture curiosity mode, rather than culture shock. It was obvious to Vivian that I wasn’t interested in being her ticket out of China though I’m not sure if I told her directly.

Anyway, I decided it was time to arrange to leave Shenzhen and I asked Vivian to help me book a plane ticket. We went into the city, or somewhere suburban at least, and she took me into a hotel foyer. I thought this was a little odd but I was learning new things. In my closeted western experience, buying plane tickets was an officious affair carried out in expensive storefronts. Now here I was in a hotel foyer buying them from some guy set up at a table in the corner.

Strangely, again, Vivian decided she wanted to visit a friend near Beijing and booked us both on the same flight. Perhaps she also wanted to make sure I was set once we arrived there but it was a little surprising to me that she suddenly made this decision where before she wasn’t even sure if she had time to hang out in Shenzhen. In retrospect, I can understand it a little more.

pic: Ivan Herman (chosen as a representation, as I couldn’t find a modern picture that didn’t look like it was from a brochure)

Tag: Curiousity

Curiouser – 10th August 2021

Buddha House (Shenzhen) – 30th April 2001