The Hazard Chronicles

Several years ago I lived near a large Buddhist temple, and I took the opportunity regularly to visit its grounds. Honestly, it was probably the most serene man-made location I have ever been to. From the moment I walked through the gate it felt almost as if I had entered another world, and the experience was nothing short of "spiritual."

As I learned about Buddhist traditions though, there was one thing that returns to the forefront of my mind almost every time I have had a remarkable experience. This thing is the Mandala.

From one article: "The creation of a mandala, the representation of the world in divine form, perfectly balanced, precisely designed, is meant to reconsecrate the earth and heal its inhabitants. But it is more than a picture. Sand painting is an intricate process. It requires millions of pieces of sand to make a mandala five by five feet square. It requires a team of monks working anywhere from days to weeks, depending on the size of the mandala, to create this floor plan of the sacred mansion that is life. It requires the interplay of vivid colors and ancient symbols.

The monks bend over the piece for hours on end, dropping one grain of sand after another into intricate symbolic patterns. The purpose is to call the community to meditation and awareness of something larger than their own small world."

That's cool, right? But the really cool part (to me) is what follows this laborious process:

When the mandala is finally finished, however long it takes for the monks to deal in this divine geometry of the heavens, they pray over it — and then they destroy it. They sweep it up, every last grain of sand and give handfuls of it away to those who participate in the closing ceremony as a final memory of sublime possibility. Then they throw the rest of the sand into the nearest living stream to be swept into the ocean to bless the whole world. And that’s it. It’s gone. In an instant, after all that artistry, all that work, it’s over.

Isn't that amazing, in an almost bittersweet sort of way?

This practice, in many ways, reminds me of this blog.

One of the main purposes of this endeavor is to preserve memories. We take pictures and we write stories. Sometimes I spend a long time trying to craft the perfect mix of words that will help me recall a set of feelings or thoughts that I had. Occasionally, I think I come close to hitting this mark. Most of the time though, this blog is more like a handful of sand- a distant reminder of something that was far too beautiful to endure.

Experiences are transient by nature. They come, and then they are gone in an instant. We will never have it back. That exact mix of external atmosphere, internal perception, and physiological conditions can never, ever be reproduced. It's just not possible. And yet, for the time that it lasted, it was absolutely, breathtakingly, beautiful.

*****

Leavenworth

As one might expect with that introduction, this week was pretty amazing. It's difficult to know where to start. Instead of going in chronological order, I'm going to try to hit on different things in a way that sort of makes more sense. Also, instead of saving the best for last, I'm going to jump right in to the weekend, where Rachel and I spent a fabulous time in the quaint little town of Leavenworth.

This is a picture of Stollerheart Ranch. It's a wonderful little Bed and Breakfast we found in the foothills of the Cascade mountains. As you can see, the lodgings were beautiful. To make things even better, the hosts were from Switzerland and we got to stay in the "Eiger Room," with decor to match the name. In light of the trip I have coming up next month, I thought this was a happy coincidence. In spite of the beautiful home and landscape, I have to say that my favorite part of this place was reading my book on the deck, early in the morning, and hearing the intermittent bleating of the goats in their nearby pen. It was an idyllic setting.

Panorama of our living quarters. Large picture windows, stone fireplace, and a beautiful lady just taking in the morning.

As picturesque as our alpine chalet was, we didn't actually spend much time there. The reason for this is because we were out playing in one of the coolest little towns I've ever visited.

Leavenworth is a quaint German-themed village in central Washington. With the stunning highland backdrop of the cascades, the smells of seasoned meat in the air, and the sounds of traditional music, it is easy to forget where you are. A good amount of our time was spent just wandering the streets of this splendid town.

But also, we're us. We don't just wander around. Here are some other activities:

Mountain biking along the beautiful Wenatchee river. I'm pretty sure this is a place I'll have to come back to with a kayak. There's a class III run through the town (we had a raft, but the river was a little low this time of year), and a refreshing looking class V run just upstream. Anyone want to plan this with me?

Story of this hike: We were headed up to do a little 6 mile jaunt to a lookout point. On the way, we picked up a hitchhiker who was doing the complete Pacific Crest Trail and had gone into town for supplies. Over sandwiches, he told us about this pretty little lake he had been to the day before, and immediately we knew we had to see it. 13 miles later we were feeling rewarded by our abrupt change in plans. What an invigorating walk in the woods!

And then there was this. The whole reason we were in Leavenworth in the first place. Every year, there is a professional theater troupe that spends its summer doing a production of "The Sound of Music" in an outdoor amphitheater. Now, let me admit here that I love this show. I have probably seen the Julie Andrews screen adaptation about twenty times. And every single time, I get emotional. I've seen a lot of plays, and to me this is one of the best.

All that said, I have never experienced it quite like I did on this night. "The Sound of Music," in the mountains, on the outskirts of a German village, was a touchstone experience for me. Of all the moments in the week, this one made me think the most of the Buddhist mandala.

*****

Ben Harper

1) Jack-of-all-trades; Master of none
2) Leader and Expert in the field

There is an essential conflict between (1) and (2) that drives me crazy. It goes something like this: Most people, myself included, cannot devote enough time/energy to achieve (2) without significant sacrifice to all other areas of life. (2) is important to me, but...I would like to achieve (2) in "all trades." There are some people who seem to have done this in life: Benjamin Franklin, Leonardo da Vinci, Aristotle...maybe Arnold Schwarzenneger. These people, to varying degrees, are heroes of mine.

The same dilemma exists, on a smaller scale, within every field. You can see this easily in medicine, with general practitioners being supported by a host of specialists. The same things exists in the world of business. Or law. Or teaching. Or sports.

Or music.

And that's where Ben Harper comes in. An amazing musician, he has won Grammy awards in Blues, Soul, and Pop music, but is probably still most recognized by the acoustic Rock or Reggae crowds. The point is, this guy is just plain good at anything he tries (at least within the realm of music).

Anyway, he was on tour in Spokane recently, and on Wednesday night Rachel surprised me with concert tickets. It was a great night out! Thank you, Love!

*****

Free Dental Day

Every year our office does Free Dental Day, and every year it is a highlight for me in a professional sense. As a doctor, I feel like many of the services I perform aren't just meant for those with financial means to afford them. If I were selling cars, or high level education, or insurance, then I would probably feel differently. But a lot of what I do falls within a pretty basic standard of care- one which, in the most prosperous country in the world, I believe should be available to everyone. This is a big part of why I began seeing Medicaid patients earlier this year even though I don't really make any money by doing this (sometimes I even lose money if I do the case right). Unfortunately, in some places (like Idaho) there are still large populations who have no access to the care they need for even a basic level of health. A lot of this is because programs like Medicaid are only offered to a very narrow group of people. A lot more of it is because the funding for these programs is so sparse that it is difficult to entice doctors to sign on. And I don't care where you stand politically- we may agree or disagree over answers, but these problems are real and need to be acknowledged.

Now, offering to do free dentistry one day a year is less than a drop of water in the great blue sea when it comes to fixing things. At the same time, it matters to the people who are able to take advantage of it. Some people reading this blog might think of throwing starfish back into the ocean...or something like that. Either way, it is rewarding to use a talent you have to make people's lives a little bit better.

This year we worked for about 4 hours and saw a little over fifty patients. Each one of them got to choose between doing an extraction, a filling, or a cleaning. All told, we did a little over $14,000 worth of dentistry, but all for free. I like to think that in our little corner of the world, this matters.

It was a good morning.

*****

Hanging out with Kids

This week had a lot of "special" stuff going on. It was a lot of fun. At the same time, this didn't slow us down one bit from our normal daily routines. For us, that means doing stuff as a family and loving every moment. Here are some photos.

Jazz concert/pizza party in the park. I love the support for the arts in our area!

The reptile man came to town.

Taking all the kids to the movies while Rachel packs for their big trip that is coming up.

Barbecue and swimming at the beach.

Have a good week!