Lyman Reed

Gratitude for Secular Buddhism

 Operation Gratitude II  9 Responses »
Jan 212012
 

Today I’m grateful for secular Buddhism.

I wasn’t sure how to capitalize that title, but decided that since “secular” is a descriptor, and “Buddhism” is (whether I like it or not) a religion, I probably got it right.

Actually, a “secular application of Buddhist thought”, as it is often described in The Secular Buddhist Podcast, is probably the best description.  Secular Buddhism is just a convenient shortening of that.

The main reason I could never accept Buddhism fully is the same reason that I’m an atheist who can’t accept Christianity, or Islam, or Hinduism.  They all have seeds of goodness in them, but also have stories and ideas that one must believe… which I cannot believe.

So I suppose I (and others) are doing with Buddhism is somewhat similar to what Thomas Jefferson did with the Bible – cherry picking the parts that I think are true and useful, and discarding those that don’t work for me.  (Of course, everyone does that with religion, I suppose I’m just being more open about it.)  I’m trying to do it with wisdom, though.  Just because something doesn’t agree with me doesn’t mean that it’s not true or helpful.  If it stands the test of rationality, it stays.  If not, it goes.

[This is entry 2/365 of Operation Gratitude II: The Grateful Strike Back]

 

Gratitude for Fall Twice, Get Up Three Times

 Operation Gratitude II  4 Responses »
Jan 202012
 

Today I’m grateful for, once again, not quitting.

Missed last nights entry, so now we are into “Operation Gratitude II: The Grateful Strike Back.”

The thing is, the point of this exercise isn’t really to go 365 days and then stop.  It’s to create a habit of being grateful for things, and to share that habit with others who may be interested.

So all that missing days does is extend it into more entries.  Which isn’t such a bad thing.

How’s that for a reframe? :-)

[This is entry 1/365 of Operation Gratitude II: The Grateful Strike Back]

 

Gratitude for Going Dark

 Operation Gratitude  1 Response »
Jan 182012
 

Today I’m grateful that many sites on the Internet went dark on January 18, 2012, in opposition to SOPA and PIPA.

As I write this, my site is still down, and will be for a few more hours.  This blog is less than a drop in the bucket, though.  The big boys, both those who went completely black and those who stayed up, yet directed their visitors to information on the bills, are the ones who made the difference.

And I’m grateful to you, dear readers, for all that you did to raise awareness and to stand up for your freedom.

[This is entry 36 of 365 of Operation Gratitude]

 

Gratitude for the SOPA/PIPA Strike

 Operation Gratitude  Comments Off
Jan 172012
 

Today, I’m grateful that so many websites have chosen to take a stand against SOPA and PIPA on 1/18/2012 and black out their websites in protest of the bills.

A few days ago, I wrote about my gratitude for internet freedom and how our “representatives” want to take that freedom away.  While progress has been made (especially on SOPA – it’s apparently been shelved), neither bill is dead.  And both of these bills need to be.

So I’ve decided to take my own tiny little stand and join in with some of the biggest names on the internet (Wikipedia, Reddit, WordPress, Mozilla, and hundreds more) when they strike.

While I’m impressed that so many heavy content providers are joining in, the ones that impress me the most are sites like Reddit and the Cheezburger network of sites – for-profit sites that are truly putting their money where their mouths are.  That a site would be willing to forgo a day of revenue in order to raise awareness of one of the greatest threats to our freedoms currently in the works is a beautiful thing.

So, I suppose I’ll see you on the 19th… yes, it means that I’ll miss one day of posting – but that’s how important this is.

[This is entry 35 of 365 of Operation Gratitude]

 

Gratitude for Life

 Operation Gratitude  Comments Off
Jan 152012
 

Today I’m not really sure what I’m grateful for.

Nothing specific is jumping out at me.  There are the old standby’s of health, family, job, security… but for some reason, nothing solid is coming to mind.

I guess I’m just grateful for life in general.  Not in an ecstatic, jumping for joy kind of way.  It’s more of a quiet, satisfied gratitude.  Just knowing that life is mostly good, and even the parts that aren’t are pretty damn OK.

[This is entry 33 of 365 of Operation Gratitude]

 

Gratitude for Decisions

 Operation Gratitude  Comments Off
Jan 142012
 

Today I’m grateful for my ability to think.

I was really wondering tonight if it’s worth it to continue with this.  I sometimes wonder if it’s worth it, if I should continue to write, day in and day out, what I’m grateful for.

I decided that I won’t really know unless I finish what I’ve started here.  Otherwise I won’t know if it was worth it or not.

So today what I’m grateful for is the ability to make that decision.

[This is entry 32 of 365 of Operation Gratitude]

 

Gratitude for Giving

 Operation Gratitude  Comments Off
Jan 122012
 

Today I’m grateful that I’m finally able to be on the giving end when people need something.

For much of my life, I was the taker.  Not that I ever gave anything, but because of my depression and acting out in my addictions, much of the time I was the one who needed something: a place to stay, a ride somewhere, a job…

Tonight, I gave a woman a ride home from work, because her car took a dive earlier today.  No, not that amazing of a thing to do.  Except as Tracy pointed out as I was trying to figure out what to write tonight, it sure is something to be grateful for – the ability and the desire to help people who need it.

That’s pretty cool.

[This is entry 30 of 365 of Operation Gratitude]

 

Gratitude for a Free Internet

 Operation Gratitude  1 Response »
Jan 112012
 

Today I’m grateful for the freedom that exists on the Internet.

The ability of people worldwide (hell… countrywide, statewide, citywide) to communicate has never been easier.  We can share information at a rate that was unheard of only a few decades ago.  And that’s only because of the Internet, and the freedom of that information to move across it.

That freedom is currently being threatened by the people who (supposedly) represent me (us, if you are an American) in Washington.  There are two bills in the works – The PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate, and the Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) in the House of Representatives.

My main objections to both of these bills are that they completely circumvent due process, and that they are the equivalent of using a nuclear bomb to blow up a bank that is being robbed.  The bills don’t just target the criminals – when the bank of information is blown up, plenty of innocents are going to be harmed in the process.

If I’m truly grateful for something, I’ll want to protect it.  Gratitude can be expressed as an emotion, but it is also expressed in action.

If Internet freedom is something that you value as well, I’d encourage you to put your action where you gratitude is.

Educate yourself about the bills, and do what you can.  One of the best resources I’ve found for both information and activism is http://americancensorship.org/.  Of course, a good old fashioned Google search produces some good results as well.   Update 1/17/11 – my new pick for the best resource when it comes to SOPA/PIPA information and activism is Reddit’s /r/SOPA.

[This is entry 29 of 365 of Operation Gratitude]

 

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