Today has been a strange day, which is not unusual in PR which is a land of strange delights. This morning, my mom, sister, Chinny, Micah, and I headed to Caimito to the Zen Center de Puerto Rico where we did a little of that meditation thing. It has been a while since I have done the sitting thing and I was reminded how hard it is just to sit…. and be still…. and listen to the rustling leaves. The head monk, Wanda, gave a nice “charla” (talk) about ego, attachment, and how the self seeks forms of pleasure, to the excess, which helps to keep the self seperate (in that sort of how I experience the world sort of way) from all else and in a state of dis-unity.

Back in San Juan, before heading to the beach, we ran into a horse protest, which was a lot like critical mass because the riders were on the streets, letting other drivers know that horses should be allowed on the streets and that spaces should be created/preserved for horses. That riding is at was at once a form of transportation, a cultural activity, and sport. Given the extreme urbanization and concretization of this little isle, this was a powerful environmental and cultural message wrapped in one, with lots of street manure

At the beach, we were watching a volleyball final as part of the festival for “San Juan” (Noche de San Juan is tomorrow night, the tradition being that you walk into the ocean 7 times backwards for good luck) when we got a phone call from my cousin whose business partner works and lives down here to see if we wanted to go on a helicopter ride. Sure, why not? Start the day with meditation being warned of the excess of pleasure and end the day with those same forms of pleasure that a small class of folk experience as a daily fact