The Real Street of Dreams Ch4

The Blue Star Gazette

	The REAL STREET OF DREAMS Chapter 4: Why we need a friend at the bottom of the ladder by Jai Tiger Reed, Editor A hard reality sets in over the last few months as the building continues along Shasta Place. The pace quickens, the tasks become more difficult and dangerous, and more pressure is put on us when we are already working at top capacity. Broken fingers, lost jobs, children lonely for the moms, and now, our new band of neighbors deals with it’s first serious accident to one of our members. Emotions, frustrations, and tempers are high. Our building supervisor walks out. “Then the fellowship has failed.” “No, not if we remain true to each other.” Under extraordinary circumstances, the extraordinary within each of us gets a chance to come out. Do you know the relationship between charcoal and pressure? We can crumble or use the pressure to become diamonds. This program demands each of us to go beyond our normal capacity and find something deeper. The deep deep capacity that secures us to the earth when we move beyond our limited concepts of our abilities. The friend at the bottom of the ladder is not there as part of some codependent “I got ya!” fantasy. The friend at the bottom of the ladder is there to secure their own ladder and start their climb - alone. I am reminded of the night Master Nu Nu left us at North Beach and sailed away on his Korean junket. “The path is alone!” he shouted over the waves through the darkness. And last week our building supervisor walked out on us for several days with a message for us to listen to him and follow what he says or build our houses alone. The program requirements and time table whip us like the winter winds did. There are no accommodations, no soft allowances, no understanding that keeps us living from our weaknesses. To do this we have to access, enliven, and live from the extraordinary within us. The first part of this program we were all a bit surprised at how much extra time in our schedules we really could find. Then our short term accommodations began to fall apart as did concepts like ‘days off’ ‘weekends’ ‘vacations’ and a ‘30 to 40 hour work week’. We were pushed to go beyond anything we have ever done. Now, our long term accommodations are falling apart. Fatigue, conflict, tempers, dealing with authority, health challenges, emotions - we are pushed farther. Living the Buddhist Heart Sutra “Going, going, going beyond, going, on beyond, wakened to all” speaks to the perserverence of all of us, the place where we find what is beyond. We are all at the top of our ladders into the unknown of our individual beyond. You can see it in the pictures! To live, to really live is a hard job. There is risk in everything we do and strive for, sometimes accidents happen but we get back up. Sometimes relationships strain but we dust ourselves off. Sometimes the tension is too much and we break down but we clean it up, and get back to work. When we keep going, we find in ourselves something extraordinary - like lost treasure or Jet Li. Our ladders reach to our widest sense and desires for home, community, and friendships. Our ladders lead beyond our limits into where we find a new sky - our own Great Beyond. May we never fail, never fall. About the program, you can learn more about the Mutual Self-Help Housing Program at Kitsap Consolildated Housing Authority's website, www.kccha.org. The run the program for Kitsap and Jefferson Counties. The program is through the USDA's rural development program. WANNA HELP? Volunteers and groups are more than welcome to speed us on our journey. Just contact Jai at jai@earthdancepress.com. The Blue Star Gazette Your guide to an naturally inspired, magical lifestyle Brought to you by a community of those involved in the healing arts. Please contact the authors and sponsors of the Blue Star Gazette on-line (www.the bluestargazette.net) and tell them you saw their work here! Don't miss an issue! Subscribe and receive each edition for only $21. Just send your editor an email and we'll get it set jai@earthdancepress.com. Feel free to call me at the office at 360-379-blue(2583).

The REAL STREET OF DREAMS
Chapter 4: Why we need a friend
at the bottom of the ladder
by Jai Tiger Reed, Editor

A hard reality sets in over the last few months as the building continues along Shasta Place. The pace quickens, the tasks become more difficult and dangerous, and more pressure is put on us when we are already working at top capacity. Broken fingers, lost jobs, children lonely for the moms, and now, our new band of neighbors deals with it’s first serious accident to one of our members. Emotions, frustrations, and tempers are high. Our building supervisor walks out. “Then the fellowship has failed.” “No, not if we remain true to each other.”

Under extraordinary circumstances, the extraordinary within each of us gets a chance to come out. Do you know the relationship between charcoal and pressure? We can crumble or use the pressure to become diamonds. This program demands each of us to go beyond our normal capacity and find something deeper. The deep deep capacity that secures us to the earth when we move beyond our limited concepts of our abilities.

The friend at the bottom of the ladder is not there as part of some codependent “I got ya!” fantasy. The friend at the bottom of the ladder is there to secure their own ladder and start their climb - alone.
I am reminded of the night Master Nu Nu left us at North Beach and sailed away on his Korean junket. “The path is alone!” he shouted over the waves through the darkness. And last week our building supervisor walked out on us for several days with a message for us to listen to him and follow what he says or build our houses alone.

The program requirements and time table whip us like the winter winds did. There are no accommodations, no soft allowances, no understanding that keeps us living from our weaknesses. To do this we have to access, enliven, and live from the extraordinary within us.

The first part of this program we were all a bit surprised at how much extra time in our schedules we really could find. Then our short term accommodations began to fall apart as did concepts like ‘days off’ ‘weekends’ ‘vacations’ and a ‘30 to 40 hour work week’. We were pushed to go beyond anything we have ever done. Now, our long term accommodations are falling apart. Fatigue, conflict, tempers, dealing with authority, health challenges, emotions - we are pushed farther.

Living the Buddhist Heart Sutra “Going, going, going beyond, going, on beyond, wakened to all” speaks to the perserverence of all of us, the place where we find what is beyond. We are all at the top of our ladders into the unknown of our individual beyond. You can see it in the pictures!

To live, to really live is a hard job. There is risk in everything we do and strive for, sometimes accidents happen but we get back up. Sometimes relationships strain but we dust ourselves off. Sometimes the tension is too much and we break down but we clean it up, and get back to work. When we keep going, we find in ourselves something extraordinary - like lost treasure or Jet Li.

Our ladders reach to our widest sense and desires for home, community, and friendships. Our ladders lead beyond our limits into where we find a new sky - our own Great Beyond. May we never fail, never fall.

About the program, you can learn more about the Mutual Self-Help Housing Program at Kitsap Consolildated Housing Authority's website, www.kccha.org. The run the program for Kitsap and Jefferson Counties. The program is through the USDA's rural development program. WANNA HELP? Volunteers and groups are more than welcome to speed us on our journey. Just contact Jai at jai@earthdancepress.com.

The Blue Star Gazette

Your guide to an naturally inspired, magical lifestyle

Brought to you by a community of those involved in the healing arts. Please contact the authors and sponsors of the Blue Star Gazette on-line (www.the bluestargazette.net) and tell them you saw their work here! Don't miss an issue! Subscribe and receive each edition for only $21. Just send your editor an email and we'll get it set jai@earthdancepress.com. Feel free to call me at the office at 360-379-blue(2583).