Long Walks On Leafy Streets

4/16/2013 Old Pali Hwy, Honolulu, HI

In the past two months we have gone from warmth in the middle of winter to a late blast of snow and cold air to a brief taste of summer and now a pleasant beginning to spring. Trees everywhere are slowly turning green with little leaflets and buds sprouting on bare branches. Nature continues to delight and inspire. Yet I am also anxious that we preserve it for our children. But sometimes one could worry too much. Perhaps one should do what one could and simply enjoy life. It does give me so much joy to enjoy the sunshine and the scenery as I walk to work. Maybe I should just enjoy it and leave it at that. But then could one also get too attached to the enjoyment of nature? Thich Nhat Hanh says in his book "Fear" that one should treat joy and sadness both in the same way -- just know that they are there and let them be, without dwelling on them.
This was a surprise to me, though it should not have been. I have always treated joy differently from pleasure. I didn't know that one could be attached to joy and that attachment to joy could cause suffering. But now I realize that this is precisely the problem. I have become attached to the joy I derive from nature so much so that it makes me constantly worried about the preservation of nature. It is a little tricky, though, to enjoy something without getting attached to it. It is our nature to want to preserve something that gives us joy and happiness. Perhaps the knowledge that this desire to preserve the enjoyment is slowly destroying the enjoyment will cause the mind to refrain from attachment. One has to also remember that nothing in life is permanent. This is the paradox in life. We can really enjoy something only when we don't care about the preservation of it. Of course we still have a responsibility to preserve nature for future generations. But we can do that without getting too anxious or desperate. So I am going to enjoy the blossoms as long as they last, knowing fully well they will fall to the earth very soon. There is no time in life to cling to anything, nor is there time to cry about anything. Joy and sadness are part of this life that is too short to dwell on either.
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