More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
in the 1970s, when the state psychiatric hospitals closed, the Library experienced an upsurge in homeless and outpatient traffic, which only increased during the recession in the eighties, due to the deep cuts in social services.
What next? She stood by the shoe racks and looked around the store. There was nothing she needed, nothing she wanted, but instead of feeling liberated, she just felt discouraged and cheated somehow. She’d worked so hard, surely she deserved something?
Benny Oh’s case perplexed her. While the boy was presenting with some symptoms of schizophrenia, she had doubts about her diagnosis, and now that he seemed to be entering an acute psychotic phase, she needed to find a treatment that worked. She was still a young doctor, with only a few years of clinical experience. She was earnest and diligent and had grown fond of the boy and his mother. They were suffering, and she wanted to help.
This was another important lesson in the impermanence of all things. Japan lies in a seismically active zone, so earthquakes are not uncommon. Disaster can strike at any moment, but we forget this, distracted by the bright, shiny comforts of our everyday lives. Wrapped in a false sense of security, we fall asleep, and in this dream, our life passes. The earthquake shook us awake, and the tsunami washed away our delusions. It caused us to question our values and our attachment to material possessions. When everything I think of as mine—my belongings, my family, my life—can be swept away in an
...more
In Zen we have a story. If your left hand gets a painful splinter, what does your right hand do? Does your right hand say, “Oh, that’s too bad, but it’s not my problem”? No, of course not. The right hand pulls the splinter out. This is interconnectedness.
♥️
