IN PRAISE OF SELF DEPRECATION by Wislawa Szymborska

The buzzard has nothing to fault himself with.
Scruples are alien to the black panther.
Piranhas do not doubt the rightness of their actions.
The rattlesnake approves of himself without reservation.

The self critical jackal does not exist.
The locust, alligator, trichina, horsefly
live as they live and are glad of it.

The killer whale's heart weights one hundred kilos
but in other respects it is light.

There is nothing more animal-like
than a clear conscience
on the third planet of the sun.

The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer

I think always that the book on spirituality/psychology that I am presently reading is the very best book ever, and this is no exception. It may be that I read into each book, of find in it. what I next need. I don't know. But this book seems so insightful to me. He is not writing from any specific theological perspective, though maybe he seems Buddhist. But he is clearly in the company of people like Eckhart Tolle etc. What makes this book so interesting to me is his understanding or explanation of why and how we resist living in the present, letting go of fear and control, moving into that place of peace and connection spiritual people want. He is so good at explaining the very specific ways--the reasons we give ourselves--by which we resist and close and fight life.



He says things like, "It doesn't matter what others do unless you decide it matters to you." Or, "You end up loving your edges because they point your way to freedom. All you have to do is relax and lean into them." Or, "Most people try to fix their problems by getting better at the same external games they have always played." And he has enough examples and details to make this make sense. Maybe his best insight for me is his description of the way we take our fear or pain, like a thorn lodged in us that we are afraid to take out which we then protect and which dictates how we live, so as not to let it get touched. I haven't said that well. He does and it's a fabulous metaphor for the protective,, controlling, fearful way we so often live.



Anyway this the latest best spiritual book I've read. I recommend it heartily. I have found it immensely useful.

film: The visitor

The Visitor is a film by the writer/director who made The Stationmaster. If you didn't see that one, rent it. It's funny, off beat, and touching, which is what a lot of good small films achieve, I guess. Anyway, I loved it. This isn't that good but it is good and it is interesting in a way message films are. The message seems true and important. The film is about the experience of being illegal in the US and so being hopeful and scared and often mistreated. The story is good because the characters are real, vulnerable, understated, well acted. The filming is sophisticated. I think that the presence of a message is what undercuts the film as "art" while it's the message--the plight of people who find themselves in this sad, difficult condition is what makes the film worth seeing. And I would see it!