A Better way of looking at the world
Writings and conversations for those who would rather observe than react — on stillness, the Greek and Roman philosophers, and the quiet practice of learning to wake-up and see the beauty that resides in our natural world and other people.
A Different way of Seeing our modern world
My name is Richard Greene, and I am the 85-year-old grandson of a Finnish Swedish Sami reindeer herder. I was raised in northern Minnesota and having few neighbors, I became attuned to the world of nature where the frogs, snakes, bumblebees and water skippers became my friends. I was truly raised as a child of nature.
We live in a world of opposites. On the one hand, there is the modern world of cities with their swarming masses who are all on their way to somewhere else. This is the world of factories, highways, and businesses where all people are attuned to accomplishing something outside of themselves. This is a busy world of distraction.
On the other hand, there is the world of nature. This is the world of forests, jungles, plains and other natural settings. The people who reside here are in touch with the earth and therefore become conscious of themselves and their place in the flow of nature. This is a slow place where the goal is to live peacefully and become one with the world.
In my life, I walked in the modern world of business where I became and electronics theoretician, the president of an insurance company, and builder of retail stores. During those years my heart was never in these activities. So, while living in the modern world I became a student of nature, philosopher and lover of beauty. This will be my story.
These three things are a small sampling of the Big ideas that I have encountered along my life’s path that have shaped who I am and given me my current understanding of Beauty and fueled my pursuit of wisdom.
Living in Two Worlds
We live in two different worlds; the modern world modeled after the machine and the world of nature and beauty.
The modern machine world is a creation of man. It is essentially dead and without a soul with its cities, factories, mines and highways. Modern man grinds his life away in this meaningless world of things without ever knowing why.
The modern machine world is a seducer of souls with all her charms of success, power, wealth and earthly rewards.
The world of nature, on the other hand, is a creation of the cosmos. This world is alive with all of its life, animals, and plants that bring forth wonder and beauty. This is the home of man in his untarnished state.
Marcus Aurelius Antonius
Today, The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius is still regarded as the greatest stoic philosopher to have ever lived.
Perhaps his greatest achievement is his advise on overcoming this obstacle strewn path of life. In his book “The Obstacle is the Way”, author Ryan Holiday describes Marcus advice in wonderful language.
Marcus tells us that we all will encounter obstacles on our individual paths of life. He tell us that we have a choice when encountering obstacle. We can see them as either Problems or Opportunities.
The beauty of seeing obstacles as opportunities is that we can then employ virtues such as creativity, positive thinking and kindness to solve them
The choice is always ours and it is in our choosing that we may change the course of our entire lives.
Friends Buddha & Mary
I once read that Television has become an “Advertisement Delivery System”. And so, I decided to cleanse my home of this noxious polluter of our minds and return to the world of Nature and Beauty.
I began with purchasing a porcelain statue of the Buddha. A short time later someone left a statue of Mary on the Give-Away table where I live. Voila, I had created my own little marriage of Peace and Beauty to fill the place where my TV had recently stood, clamoring its never ending advertisements, noise, insanity and nonsense.
And now, I read more, purchase flowers, listen to music, feed the birds and live with a sense of quiet and peace in my quiet hermitage with my little cat Sophie.