The Moon Garden Lounge

Junie, for me it is not a lack of interest, it is a lack of time and some time zone disconnects - I always seem to be last to any party on US-driven fansites, even in the "slower" threads.

I've really enjoyed what everyone here has had to say, their ideas and perspectives, their care and their beautiful visual gifts.

I have very, very limited Adam time at the moment, so my posts are not that thoughtful (despite your lovely compliment otherwise), they're written in a rush between other things I have to do, more like a stream of ideas only, rather than anything more coherent and even lacking precision at times (pointed out to me by one poster). Sometimes all I can manage is a little visual "gift" that I hope people might enjoy.

And I do apologise, because there have been many things written here that deserved more consideration that I have been able to give, both Adam and non-Adam related - and I enjoy both. Even those topics that are less interesting to me, I still try to respond to, because the person wants the interaction, wants the conversation and it's really nice to just chat as well.

I also hope that you don't feel any pressure to keep this thread going, or to keep suggesting possible interesting topics. Sometimes we can seem to be just in a mulling mood, not sure.



I'm still back in this part of the thread . You've come back to this notion a few times in different ways, so here are some of my thoughts. (random, lack of precision alert).

I'm not sure we've ever truly had a global sense of the "common good" or true sense of community in the first place to lose (I'm talking about western societies). What it means has never been very clear or anywhere near universally accepted. And its meaning has always favoured the interests of those with economic and political power. So, at best, it's been fractured, self-serving and enforced on individuals to greater and lesser degrees - through social and cultural norms that support those dominant interests.

That's not to say that there have not been sub-cultures built around a myriad of things. But they are inherently unstable - you lose the reason for forming the group in the first place, and it collapses fairly readily. Perhaps some of us have been privileged enough to be members of those, and hence are mourning their loss. I also believe it's much easier to have a sense of "being in it together" when economic times are good. When they're not, the dog-eat-dog tendency gets much stronger, but it always has been there.

Our societies are based on the notion of the individual and the primary rights of individuals. The sense of "other" is the foundation of the concept of community.

What motivates individuals, within their beings, to me is always primary. A loving heart self-regulates because it is motivated by the notion that “where my need stops, yours begins because we are one and the same”. You could call it individual moral choice, if this way of looking at it fits better.

I think human history shows us that, on the whole, something entirely different is motivating us, hence the need for so much external regulation to force the issue of considering others, to greater and lesser degrees at different times, but certainly in every sphere of life.

I tend to believe that peoples' conduct was simply better regulated in the past, that the notion of community in the larger sense was more "social correctness" than anything that genuinely came from a sense of love or moral choice. We venerate the "selfless", those that sacrifice themselves through choice, e.g. Mandela, or other "everyday heroes" because they are rare. That tells me a lot.

Adam is a poster child for individual freedom and expression - to the degree of "fuck you". But it is well tempered by his sense of "other", you know, the various statements he made during GNT about connection to love that were roundly and loudly mocked by so many?

I don't think I could stomach him, great voice aside, without this notion. He'd just be another egotistical rock star in a long, boring line of them.

Mika, take your time!

juniemoon, love you back.....in the Moon Garden's way ;D

juniemoon, that was brilliant. At first I thought I would just listen to a little bit but the time passed quickly and I was engrossed. The desire to connect with others must be so deeply ingrained in our psyches that nothing can stop it. A beautiful story.

Sorry about your bad day. There might be something in your mailbox that would make it better. ;D

I keep running across quotes that remind me of Adam. These wise words were from, of all places, Carl Richards' personal finance blog in the NYT:

There’s an old saying that you should take a look at your checkbook and your calendar to see what you really value as opposed to what you say you value, because the calendar and the checkbook never lie…

…It may help to think of life in units — units of time, units of energy and so on. Each day, you take some of your units and exchange them for units of money. You then take those units of money and spend them on something. But every time you exchange a unit, there’s a tradeoff, and we often fail to look past the immediate return to the potential long-term consequences.

But the point remains that when it comes to our human capital, we’re not very good at judging the value of the tradeoff or even considering it in the first place.

Last week, on Harvard Business Review’s Web site, Umair Haque pointed out that “The ‘best’ investment you can make isn’t gold. It’s the people you love, the dreams you have, and living a life that matters."

What do you think? Are you happy with how you invest your own time, energy, and money? I think I could do a lot better on all three.

Perhaps we can look at Adam's calendar and see what he values ... what he is investing in, what his dreams are. And if we don't like it ... maybe we need to look at our own calendars instead of criticizing Adam's?

Evening fellow travellers!

Such interesting contemplations on this thread! I'm away from home at present on Bhutan, so wont stay long on this computer but wanted to share this pic with you - from Bhutan - because it goes with the beauty in this place. This country is a country of dragons and magic!



Adam is certainly wolf, and tiger and he is very much dragon - spendiferous and fluid!

I am reading the best book by Jodi Picoult called Lone Wolf. I haven't gotten to the end yet, but I have the feeling I am going to cry. I didn't know where to go to recommend it to you gals so I came here. It is a beauty.

Just wanted to jump in quickly before all the excitement of the Kiev show today.

I too enjoyed watching Adam at the "youngling show". Friday Download. He was fully engaged with these kids both in playing that "musical chairs" thing (which I couldn't quite understand what was going on) and in giving them a joyous performance of NCOE with riffs and hand-clapping. No patronizing or condescending, but just fully in the moment with these kids. When I see things like this with Adam, my admiration and love for him just increases.

Now on to Kiev!