I set out to fish and work the reefs on the north narrows side of the island. There was usually no one else on the beach at four o’clock and the feeling of having this three-mile beach almost to myself was expansive. Just to stand alone and turn my back on civilization, forced to stop thinking by the vastness of the ocean view, pretending that this was the last block on the edge of the world, was unrestrained and invigorating. But my mind would not let go of the self-judgements and dichotomies that dove in and out of my consciousness. I want to be a better Zen Buddhist. I must be the change that I wish to see in the world. The unity of our existence consists of perpetual change. All things change. Hold on to nothing. Satoru

I was working on my next book A Way To Love. I wanted to print out a few pages to edit physically. Because the building I live in is at least seventy years old it does not have enough electric outlets. So I have to switch plugs from the external drive to the printer in the multiple jack when I want to print. I switched plugs and the computer dimmed. All at once all the lights in the apartment dimmed and I froze. I was at the window and saw the lights go out in my building. Click, Click, Click, the lights first flickered and went out in the six twenty story buildings around me and then in the entire valley of the Lower East Side up to thirty Fourth Street. Black, black, night and no communication. Was the hurricane Sandy responsible or was it the reality that global warming is here to stay? I went back and pulled the printer plug out of the multiple outlets. But I was too late and the three transformers exploded. Although I lived with some of your discomfort, no light, electricity, food, water, heat, phone, Internet, heat, etc. As A Zen Buddhist I feel extremely guilty. What can I say? I will adjust, be more aware of green technology, and reduce the use of my electricity. I sincerely apologize for the black out and take full responsibility. But please learn from my mistake. Be more prepared for future negative events since they are inevitable. Love always. Satoru

Be careful of the computer age and the Internet information age. It is becoming easier to download information a second or third time then to memorize it. We no longer have to remember anything. Just Google it and the machine remembers for us. We are actually spending our lives in front of a screen mixing, mashing, downloading, uploading and feeding the network.
This magnified, collaborative interaction, complexly ebbed, into our environment and lives, is morphing into our identity. 

It used to be think Yiddish, dress British and talk Chinese. Now it’s, Talk Black, think White, love Yellow, and act Green.
Satoru