Long Walks On Leafy Streets

5/21/2015 C & O canal towpath, Harper's Ferry, WV
We are at the eleventh hour of Nicole’s pregnancy. Any time now she might go into labor. She has been home now for about a week. We have been enjoying this time together. I have been putting together various pieces of furniture and other paraphernalia needed for the coming baby. Yesterday we visited a potential pediatrician in the Shaw –U street neighborhood, near our old home. The young Doctor impressed us. At the beginning she proudly showed off the little vegetable garden they are growing in their clinic’s front yard, not only to show children where vegetables come from but also to provide their families with vegetables. Many of the families who bring their children to this clinic are low-income and often their children are overweight due to the lack of a nutritious diet. The neighborhood itself is changing rapidly. It used to be a diverse middle class community.
After the riots of 1968 many of these families moved out to the suburbs. Now with the influx of young professionals the neighborhood is becoming more upscale.

After the clinic we went to Dupont circle and had tea at Kramerbooks. It was a perfect afternoon. After a few hot days with afternoon thunderstorms a cold front had moved in and the air was very mild with just a hint of a breeze. While driving there we started talking about the nature of ego. I was telling Nicole how I was uncovering the many layers of ego. As I get older and more self-aware, I see more clearly the various layers of ego, emotional and mental states. Our being is complex web of memories, impulses and thought processes interacting with the ego. It takes much introspection, practice and courage to delve into the nature of our self and to try and understand the meaning of our fleeting existence on this little blue planet. Even when you understand it, it takes much hard work to rise above the base instincts and ego driven thinking. There are moments when my body and mind are in harmony with my belief in the oneness of humanity and feels love for all beings. Yet there are many other moments when it is painfully clear how far I have to go before I can break free of the shackles of ego, emotions and mental formations. Ultimately it is about getting out of the attachment to our superficial self and reaching the inner self where the divine being lives, the One who is in everything. I told her about my belief that this is what Jesus meant when he said that if one surrenders to Him he or she would attain salvation.

This bookstore as well as the circle used to be one of my favorite hangouts when I first moved into Washington. I was attracted by the open green space as well as the diversity of the people who would sit there or pass through there. On some of the benches and on the grass there would be homeless men in their blankets. Then there would be young people meeting their dates or loved ones. I myself have spent many an evening either on the circle or nearby bars and cafes hoping to meet that special woman. Professionals who worked in nearby offices would pass through or sit on the benches to relax. Often there would be someone yelling on a megaphone, either an evangelical preaching to the unbelievers or a peace activist protesting the wars. On the outer circle there were men sitting at one of the tables playing chess. It was wonderful to think of how life progresses, from singlehood to parenthood and beyond. We talked about how we were fortunate that now we are past the time when we were still trying to find our place in the world and satisfy our desires and ambitions and now were ready to see it through a whole new set of eyes.

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