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    Julie and Julia (and “actionless action”)

    ByElizabeth

    I went to see Julie and Julia because I, like most other Americans of a certain age who like food, have a history with Julia Child.  Seeing the movie brought back an episode from junior high school.  By seventh grade, I was pretty competent cooking, cleaning, babysitting, and doing needlework.  Being a feminist in training, I wanted to take shop.  Mr. Murphy, my ancient (OK who knows how old he was, but he was gray and bald and had leathery skin, so he was likely over 50 at the time) guidance counselor refused:  “shop is for boys; home economics is for girls.”  I expected my mother to back me up, but for some reason she did not.

    I had no interest in making rice crispy treats, which was not the kind of thing we cooked at home and was the kind of thing they taught in home economics.  Part way through the year, when we were told to cook a whole dinner at home and then bring in a report, I decided to cook from Julia Child.  I am sure the meal was perfectly delightful, but the motive on my part was not to make a delicious dinner for the family, but to show my guidance counselor and parents that I should have been allowed to learn something that I did not know how to do and could not learn from a book (woodworking and other “shop” skills).

    I enjoyed the movie (it’s a pleasant couple of hours and Meryl Streep is wonderful), but the interesting after thought for me was the difference in the happiness of an individual depending on motivation in life choices.  Is something done for joy (with recognition being delightful, but somewhat incidental) or is it being done because one needs recognition and then feels satisfied on getting it?  From a yoga perspective, is it “actionless action” (see Bhagavad Gita)  or is it acting out of a need to fulfill the ego, which inevitably binds one in the fierce dichotomy and inner tug or war of the opposites of longing and gratification, pain and pleasure?

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    Daylight v. Day Lights

    ByElizabeth

    A year or two before Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth was released, I went to a panel discussion and film (alas, I cannot remember the title of the film) about global climate change.  One of the speakers was a Nepalese attorney who was working on a case in the World Court that sought to address the impact of various corporate practices on the Himalayan snow cap.

    One of the things this man said continues to resonate with me:  “Why is it,” he asked, “that Americans are always turning on lights in the day time?  Do you ever think about how much energy we could save and dangerous, climate-changing emissions we could stop, if we just relied on day light during the day instead of adding unnecessary electric lights?”

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    Seen From the Bus

    ByElizabeth

    It’s hard to believe that I’ve only been home from India for a little over two weeks given how busy I’ve been at work.  I found some time this afternoon to pick out some photos to share.

    On this second trip to South India, I was even more conscious of the protective bubble in which we traveled.  I am not afraid or ashamed to admit that some of the places through which the bus drove would have been a big travel challenge for me without the bus and knowledgeable, competent, supportive guides.

    These photos were mostly taken on a long day’s ride that became that much longer to encompass a detour to incorporate a last minute addition to the itinerary of an older and beautiful Shiva temple (I took the photo of the jackfruit vendor I posted last week after this temple visit).  The detour was one of those only 20 kilometers extra detours that turn out to add three hours to the trip because it shifted from the main road to tertiary roads–I’m sure you, like I, have done that in the mountains somewhere), and it was truly someplace else from where I am used to being.

    It was hard to be on the bus for those extra hours, but it was powerfully interesting to observe.  Do click on individual pictures to see detail and facial expressions and in some, of course, the signs.

    bus ride 1a bus ride 1b bus ride 1c bus ride 1d bus ride 1e bus ride 1f bus ride 1g bus ride 1h bus ride 1i bus ride 1j bus ride 1k bus ride 1l bus ride 1m bus ride 1n bus ride 1o bus ride 1p bus ride 1q bus ride 1r bus ride 1s bus ride 1t

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