Worldly Monk Concept

Water and mud make bricks, especially under the sun, which can be useful for foundations of glorious kingdoms or humble havens.  I feel that a water and mud comparison to what I have experienced helps me view my opportunities with hope as I have learned to make the most of being thoroughly overcome by what has to be the most disgusting culture that has ever existed. My mind and my soul and my life and environment are covered in the grime of this world, and in about years three and four of working at a Barnes and Noble for a long time, I started to accept this reality and decided to take every advantage I could to pray well in this condition.  I have heard people talk about "trappings" before, and how people can sometimes escape the distractions and burdens of life and find sanctuary in places like the mountains or ironically to a "desert" to find rest and spiritual oasis. I have some memories of places like that from when I was a kid, but as an adult, I have found the true traps that people have set to be inescapable, horrifically violating, and burdensome in a soul crushing way that I do not expect to ever recover from in this life. Keeping insurance was the killer for me, but there are other traps in our culture, like the constant threat of debt and bad credit, low wages and high rent, email and personal information scams, unavoidable terrible music, disgusting movies that starve millions for satisfying storylines, and terrible news headlines about other people being violated in far worse ways. I almost can't take it at all, but over time have found great hope through prayer, and am so appreciative of all my links to humanity that retreating seems like it would be the least pure and good thing I could do. I am starting this blog as a place to share some reflections about what I have learned along my nasty, briar filled mud trap sand spur path, and I hope that people can find some happiness in a field of wildflower ideas grown with all the water that my shattered bucket could never hold.