Wow, over the past day I’ve had some really interesting conversations with folks about the privatization question. Discussion of pros and cons.
Interestingly, The Cop, who usually is not the most web-friend friendly person in the world, argued against privatization at dinner. I explained that I generally surf blogs in the morning when I have coffee and that it can mess with me when people are being mean or petty. I KNOW I should be able to rise above it, but I just hate when the first thing that goes into my fresh morning consciousness is aggressive or mean. It tends to kind of gnaw at me, and yes, I know I should just be able to dismiss it, but it doesn’t always work that way. I guess I expect us all to have a sense of loyalty to each other, even if we disagree. It’s absurd, I know, to expect such a thing from cyberspace, but I am a ridiculous optimist. Team Ashtanga, after all! All helping each other on the road to enlightenment!
Aw, it just bothers me if my first impulse in the morning is to tell someone off or feel defensive or whatever. Why have or spread that kind of energy? Yes, I hear how silly my assumptions are.
Growing a thicker skin is something I’ve tried to avoid in all aspects of life, so I don’t want to default to that. Learning how to process more quickly/easily would be helpful, but without the thicker crust…
Then there’s the open sharing of practice information aspect of a public blog. I have learned a lot from other practitioners who are willing to share their thoughts/practices, and I like the idea that we can all chip in to a collective database of sorts.
And of course there’s the question of whether privatization will make the blog too circumscribed, too private.
On the upside, I heard from some folks who I had never “met” before, and that is totally cool.
So, there are a few of the arguments against. Later on, I’ll write more about the pro-privatization arguments.
Here’s the first thought this morning: I need to sit more. This thought arises from an intersection of Owl’s and Zee’s correspondences. And is sealed by a note from the zendo with the January/February weekend schedules. Also factoring in: The Cop’s comment, “So don’t read blogs in the morning.”
Yup, a little coffee, some circumscribed surfing, and then some pre-practice zazen. I got into the habit of coffee and Ashtangi.net because I had some time to kill while the coffee settled. Zazen would fit in there quite nicely. LOL! Plus there is something kinda funny about using the quest for enlightenment to kill time. Mucho zen.
I feel kinda sheepish, like a diva who has a bunch of “final” tours. Sorry for the drama. The privatization question is open right now, and I guess I’ll learn something by thinking it over a bit.
