California dreamin'

Okay, so we (the royal "we") are posting again. I know, its been a while. I've been a bit busy and preoccupied with Zen studies and doing lots of Nothing. So. We'll see how this goes, but i aim to post more often now.

 I'm living in San Francisco. How can i exist in the noisy, busy, breezy city? I keep asking myself this, and i don't have a good answer yet. Chop wood, carry water. But it does seem really different at the temple in the city, than the temple in the mountains. I've started volunteering for the GGNRA - a lovely little acronym of a place, made up of vastly different stretches of land: park, forest, mountain, beach. I'm helping collect, and eventually analyze, samples of zooplankton and invertebrates in the Recreation Area. Specifically, i'm working at Mountain Lake (in the Presidio), at Rodeo Beach (Marin Headlands) and Muir Beach. I went to the Presidio yesterday to meet with the folks i'm working with and get a sense of the project. Afterward, i went for a jog at Baker Beach. I realize: i seek out the ocean, i seek out wild places, wherever i go. I was overjoyed to run at the lapping waves' feet, to chase the foam up and down the pebble-strewn wet sand, to have the company of White-Crowned Sparrows. And there are fascinating bits of wildness, throughout the city. So what is wild? What is my value - do i like watching wildlife, if they're birds nesting in the old telephone pole across the street from my window? Or do i need to be out, away from the squeal of wheels on the buses and the roar of sirens? I'm not sure, but i certainly seek out wildness and experiences of watching and interacting with wildlife and plants, any chance i get.

 California dreamin'. So it goes.