While I was walking the streets of my little town, I was noticing some of the features that don’t appeal to me. I’m sure everyone sees the same problems, but they must not be enough of a problem for someone to work to fix it.

For some odd reason, I thought that if this were a MUD, then I would just give myself a bit of mojo and retype in the description to make things a little cleaner … a little nicer.

But a MUD’s “room description” is similar to a description in a novel— each person who reads it paints a new mental image or projection. So while I might look at this part of my world and see things that I don’t like, someone else with a different perspective might think it fabulous.

Obviously someone thought it great at one time or they wouldn’t have gone through the initial trouble of building it.

So these dilapidated buildings, which were once new, are taking on a new life. Is it good? Worn, thread-bare, scratched and other wabi-sabi characteristics appeal to many people. “Distress” is what I believe the Pottery Barn calls a bunch of their stuff.

Well, if you find me in your Pottery Barn catalog with a little H next to my picture, the word distressed would certainly be listed in my description. We try so hard to maintain our newness, but maybe having a another life as an antique … or at least a nostalgic collectible.

This train of thought brought me back to an article I was reading on the bus prior to getting on this street in need of repair. The article, A Healthy Sense of Self by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche (in the July 2003 issue of Shambhala Sun) began with this nice quote:

The Buddha saw that human existence is characterized by three qualities: impermanence, suffering, and selfishness. He discovered that we suffer because we try to make ourselves solid and permanent, while our fundamental state of being is unconditionally open and changing. The Buddha encouraged others to discover this open state of being for themselves in the process of sitting meditation.

I don’t know why I like this quote so much … the concept of impermanence is intriguing, but to think of it as our nature, and for us to quit fighting this loosing battle and not only accept it, but live it … well, something to stew over.