Having fun amongst the tragedy of life, many times I've questioned how. How do you laugh and play, knowing that AIDs and starvation are sweeping through parts of Africa. How, when you see marijuana growers being imprisoned, while pharmaceutical companies are making millions off pushing devastating drugs like OxyContin. For those of you who are unaware, OxyContin is the latest, growing epidemic of prescription drug abuse. It is the equivalent of heroin, in a time release capsule. The time release film is removed and it is either crushed and snorted or cooked and shot up. It is killing California youth and if it isn't already being abused in your town, it will be soon. I met a teenage woman in a drug rehab facility who was detoxing from Oxy. It wasn't pretty. She told me the story of her bottom. Her and her boyfriend were doing Oxy. He went into seizures, started foaming at the mouth and died. That was enough for her to want to get clean. My prayers are with her. Only a small percentage of addicts and alcoholics who try for recovery make it.
So how does one have fun? I'm not a great resource for that. I am in recovery myself, 19 months without alcohol and over 6 months without any mind altering substances. One thing I have learned is that most spiritual growth does not happen without the motivation of pain, fear, despair and a hopelessness in ones own power to overcome this. We realize that there is a higher power that can and will bring change and relief, if he/her is sought. We can be led by this higher power, that I choose to call God, into life experiences and challenges, with an acceptance and compassionate detachment, that enables us to love and be of service. By striving to be selfless, to be of service, to love all living beings and to accept that everything is just the way it is supposed to be, for the growth of us as individuals and as a species can I find peace. With peace in my heart and can love and enjoy God's gifts. When I look at the gifts and not the shortcomings I am overwhelmed for all that I have been given, that I did very little to deserve.
So, what is "fun". I had this discussion with a friend and my wife one time. We never came to consensus. Let it be said, that his belief was that fun is a mislabled illusion. That it is a concept that is separate from our being. That is, that it is something we have to seek, acquire and consume. I have learned since that night, that fun is a state of being. One can be fun, but one can't have fun.
So I am fun when I listen to good music and when I dance. If you are interested in what that often sounds like, I have put a new link to my yahoo radio station, http://music.yahoo.com/launchcast/station.asp?u=1307564146 . This mix is based on my musical preferences and created by the yahoo launchcast computer. It does a pretty good job. The shortcoming is that I love a lot of music that is not in their library, such as ethnic music, spiritually based music by people such as Jai Uttal and Vox. I haven't heard any Incredible String Band, Tyrannosaurus Rex or Mothers of Invention yet either. But I love it and am listening to it right now. Now playing "Bollweevil" by Leadbelly.
Then this afternoon, we are off to see "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". I loved the original Willie Wonka with Gene Wilder and love Johnny Depp. I'll let you know what fun I was later.
I read somewhere recently, I can't remember where but it made a lot of sense to me, that instead of greeting someone with "How are you doing?" we should instead ask "How are you being?". That takes us right to the point of life, in my opinion.
Peace and fun,
Alan
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