Matt’s blog

I walked on the bank of a stream near my house

and contemplated  the  "Sunflower Sutra”

      What are my visions that bring the beat feeling into the twenty first century?

Then I saw a solitary swan swimming in the waters ahead

Majestic white against February's gray winter:

My Generation is full of

YouTube freaks and

Facebook sneaks and

MySpace creeps

People sitting at home alone searching for something

Some kind of connection, disconnected from society

        drowning their sorrows in a world of images and text

Information “byte sized” and projected across the world through a network of

Isolation

We put ourselves out on a profile defining who we are through a sterile medium

We connect to a box

I saw a guy on the net that had 1000 friends

      How many voices has he heard?

      How many faces has he seen?

            Instead of simulations of faces, shadows of faces

Hollow People

      How many bodies has he touched?

Instead we make love through a text

Trade a caress for a symbol

And images replace orgasms

Even the disembodied voice of a friend fades compared to a simple smile

Then I felt the squish of mud beneath my feet and the air on my face

That nature does have a place in this world of advanced technology

And there ahead was the swan joined by a goose flown off track

Connection-as they swam off together 

A Koan is a teaching tool that Zen masters will use with their students to get them to think. They will present two options to a situation- both of which are unacceptable. The student must find the answer beyond logic. 

The Zen Cashier 

A guru once questioned a young cashier

      Thirty blows if you scan an item

      Thirty blows if you don't scan an item

So without attachment to action

In a state of meditative mindfulness

He simply watches the items go by

Listens to the

Blip

Blip

Blip

And concentrates on

His breathing 

You catch me late in the evening, and entice me to go out for an adventure.

We dress up and head out, Percy, the GPS, brings us to our destination unscathed

And I am nervous

With soothing words you encourage me on through the face of a:

Pat down, pay at the door, put out my coat, party scene

Flashing lights and a thumping base fill my head with dread,

But you comfort me and lead me on by the hand

We pick up a drink at the bar and then

The Dance Floor

Nervous I watch as you move to the music

Arms fling and hips swing

to and fro like an expert on the dance floor

Your smile and touch loosen me up-

Then I take you by surprise

You may know how to dance along

But I know how to make your body move with mine

Better than a grind

It's Blues- to a techno beat

Dips, turn, swirls

lights flashing

music blaring

straight to my soul

and your smile

and your body moving against mine

People stare envious of our passionate dance

but I'm in a trance, our bodies moving like one

like they were born to move together

The constant stimulation may have been

too much for my head and brain to comprehend

But we made out mark in the scene together

I know that no one there has the same kind of connection that we have

the same chemistry

the same way of saying without words

You are Wonderful

Our bodies speak for themselves

And so we drove back in the snow

and I think to myself the whole way home

about the next time that I can dance with you

and make our bodies flow together

and dance the way that dancing was meant to be done