{"id":183,"date":"2010-04-06T06:01:00","date_gmt":"2010-04-06T06:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2010\/04\/do-over\/"},"modified":"2010-04-06T06:01:00","modified_gmt":"2010-04-06T06:01:00","slug":"do-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/americanbuddhist\/2010\/04\/do-over.html","title":{"rendered":"Do Over"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

After tonight\u2019s meditation on Pema Ch\u00f6dr\u00f6n\u2019s\u00a0Don\u2019t Bite the Hook: Finding Freedom from Anger, Resentment, and Other Destructive Emotions: Library Edition<\/a>\"\", I thought I might apply her wise teaching on \u015a\u0101ntideva\u2019s discussion of patience and joyfulness. The gist of her teaching was to add cheerfulness to our every evaluation of the world<\/b>. Not to be fake about it \u2013 ever. But rather to counteract our very human tendency to dwell on and emphasize the negative. We see three good things and one bad and tend to cling to the one bad thing. Then, if you\u2019re like most people, you find yourself beating yourself up over your own negativity later on. <\/p>\n

So I\u2019m re-doing my last post<\/a> somewhat. Same basic stuff. New commentary.<\/p>\n

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My watch, with a rainbow inside.\u00a0Just submitted to\u00a0Photography 139<\/a>\u00a0for this week\u2019s \u201cmacro\u201d theme.<\/span>\u00a0This little\u00a0trail runner<\/a>\u00a0watch has been very good to me over the last year or so since I\u2019ve been \u2018seriously\u2019 marathon training, accompanying me to China as well as on my marathon itself.\u00a0\"\"<\/div>\n
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Strawberry. From my\u00a0Nikon D3000<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 a pretty good \u2018starter\u2019 dSLR, though I\u2019ll always recommend bumping up to the\u00a0D5000<\/a>\u00a0or the\u00a0D90<\/a>. If you can\u2019t afford that jump up, get the\u00a0Canon SX20IS<\/a>, an amazing camera with many bonuses. It\u2019s just not a dSLR, but with a 20x zoom lens and great results on macro, you\u2019ll rarely find yourself missing anything.<\/div>\n
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Our kitchen. A growler just waiting to be filled at the local micro-brewery (just 3 blocks away). Locally made bread\u2026 well I\u2019ve just had a couple slices, with the wonderful olive oils. The mortar and pestle in the picture were to grind peanuts for a homemade African peanut soup. Low-tech goodness.<\/div>\n
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Easter dinner at the folk\u2019s place. One of the people who most embodies\u00a0Pema Ch\u00f6dr\u00f6n\u2019s advice tonight is my father (an old post with a pic or two<\/a>). A little over a year ago his mom passed away. And just about two months ago now his father passed away too. Seeing the way he has handled himself after losing his remaining parent has only added\u00a0immensely\u00a0to my admiration of him<\/b>. Never a \u2018poor me\u2019 moment, never overwhelmed by the decisions and disagreements between siblings or the new world of paperwork and technicalities. Simply thoughtfulness, an eye on fairness, and a good sense of humor all the while.<\/div>\n
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A visit to the Archie Bray Foundation<\/a>. A must see if you\u2019re ever in or near Helena, MT. This simple assortment of odd \u2018throw-away\u2019 bricks becomes a new work of art from each new perspective and distance.<\/div>\n
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Not too sure what this was, but there was a matching piece nearby that was shaped so that it would fit into this. The simple sense of spiraling inward and downward to the darkness was enough to catch my eye and imagination.<\/div>\n
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An angel, wings and all (photo by Julie<\/a>)<\/div>\n
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~<\/div>\n

Yesterday, in addition to being Easter, was the 43rd anniversary of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.\u2019s Anti-war speech, \u201cBeyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence.\u201d It is as relevant today as it was then. Read it<\/a>, listen to it<\/a>. Share it with friends.<\/p>\n

And excerpts of a Sermon at the Ebenezer Baptist Church on April 30, 1967. (click on the video for the Youtube page with more info)<\/p>\n