Four Years in Victoria: List Making

I sense quite a bit of internally directed impatience and judgement. So it is good to take stock.

Four years in Victoria, an incomplete list of firsts…

  1. Joined the board of an organization
  2. Donate(d) to multiple organizations
  3. Made presentations to the city council, school board, public meetings, met MPs, MLAs, councillors, mayors
  4. Facilitated public forums (not fora, which would make me an elitist)
  5. Joined a political party
  6. Went door to door for a political party
  7. Played music in a band for a paying audience
  8. Wrote music
  9. Sang in crowded street corners (with other people) busker style
  10. Grew veggies and greens
  11. Canned, made beer, made wine
  12. Became a property owner and joined the strata board!
  13. Lost my connection with the automobile. Driving, except for road trips, is now a necessary chore.
  14. Started busing to work.
  15. Got a new (lack of )hairstyle
  16. Garlic scapes (How did I miss out on garlic scapes for this long??)
  17. Expect to see Orca every time I get on a boat (I guess getting on a boat regularly is a first too).
  18. Expect to see snow-capped mountains at every turn while wearing a T-shirt and sandals in February

Being visible in public is relatively new to me, always good to remember my past when explaining my present reluctance.

This might be my first ever link less post.

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    Walking

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    I wish I worked like I walk
    One foot in front of another
    A steady, fast pace
    Direct, seeking straight lines
    Diagonals
    Obstacles gone around or over
    But always pausing to smile at the rabbits
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    Anticipating every light
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    Observing every car that doesn’t see me
    Shaking to a song that moves
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    A destination awaits
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    The path is good and the end is clear.
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    I don’t work like I walk…

     

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    Do primates believe in God? They seem to have morals!

    I had a conversation with a colleague over lunch a few years back, really nice guy and good friend, very religious. Somehow, the topic of my religion came up and I happened to mention that I was not much of a believer in any kind of supreme being. He was silent for a little while, trying to digest the fact that someone he liked and respected (me!) had just outed himself as the spawn of satan. He then asked me where I got my values from if I did not believe in God. I explained to him that just like him, I got mine from my parents, from school, society, friends, etc., in fact, one source less than he got his from! (a slight variant on the “I believe in one god less than you do” schtick!) I also explained to him that I thought a lot about my value system, I made ethical and moral judgements all the time just by thinking, reading and listening to other people. He seemed unconvinced, thanked me for my honesty, and we proceeded to talk basketball after that (Go Heels!).

    Long ramble notwithstanding, I had known a little bit about this primate research previously, but happened to read a well written NY Times article about primates and “morality” (don’t like that word, but can’t seem to find a better one).

    Scientist Finds the Beginnings of Morality in Primate Behavior – New York Times

    Some animals are surprisingly sensitive to the plight of others. Chimpanzees, who cannot swim, have drowned in zoo moats trying to save others. Given the chance to get food by pulling a chain that would also deliver an electric shock to a companion, rhesus monkeys will starve themselves for several days

    Biologists argue that these and other social behaviors are the precursors of human morality. They further believe that if morality grew out of behavioral rules shaped by evolution, it is for biologists, not philosophers or theologians, to say what these rules are.

    Hmm, they must believe God, because without religion, there is no morality, right?

    I am not convinced that this “morality” was a naturally selected behavior rather than a by-product of evolution (the article references a critic as making this point too), nevertheless, it is fascinating.

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