Murals

This mural in San Francisco was done by Paula's sister and her boyfriend. Pretty sweet!

Mirrors

Be prepared for the possibility that people around you are mirrors, and that observations you make about them are actually observations about yourself.

Anger in San Francisco

Let me begin by saying this: I do not mind if people wish to be voluntarily homeless, traveling from one liberal center to the next, living in parks and smoking and drinking. I view that as a human right to do so, and we would not have many of the great spiritual traditions in the world that we do today if this were not the case.

Yesterday, I was walking along the famed Haight Street in San Francisco toward Golden Gate park. There were three young copies of the disaffected youth type ahead of, then next to, then behind, then next to me as I walked. I kept being near them, seemingly randomly. As we progressed down the street, I noticed them generally causing ruckus with middle aged tourists and so forth.
As one set of visitors moved away form them:

Hey look, she acts like I am gonna ask her for change!

Like that isn't exactly what he was going to do, being that he had a hand full of change.
And that he asked me for some not half a block later.
because he was short $.25 for a hit of acid.
And when I didn't respond, he said

Thanks for the compassion

And I thought, I would really like to pound on this kid.

Of course I didn't. He would have wanted that. Something to make his day interesting. Someone to bite at the bait. Not me, though.


I do not like is being hassled by people who choose this lifestyle. They are no modern day Jesus or Buddha, spurning society for free choice and authentic living. They are just three selfish assholes against the world, mad because of this or that. Maybe they were abused as small children. Maybe they were unloved. Maybe they ______ insert excuse; I don't really care. I have a saying that I think applies here well:

The circumstances of your life may not be your fault, but they are your responsiblity.