Dirtbag Altruism

I meet people every day who want to make a difference in the world. They go out and study intercultural communications, environmental justice, and peace making. But what comes next? How do you pay for college loans by talking about peace? How do you feed a family volunteering in Southeast Asia? How do you tell a story from a hut in the mountains? So many of my friends are intelligent, passionate people that want to make a difference, but in order to do that it seems that our only option is to vanquish ourselves to a life of poverty. Is there another way? What should we change in order to pursue a better world, or even a better community, or neighborhood, or family, or life and not be a beggar. I am looking for a middle way, as the Buddha would put it, a path between the extremes of commercial excess and abject poverty, a middle way that offers us peace of mind, good health, and a fulfilled existence. Maybe this is idle talk of a dreamer, but I have been pondering this for months and will continue to do so for some time. Maybe I will discuss this topic more in the future. Peace Love and Ramen


Mike

Utsunomia Community Cafe

In Utsunomia there is a curious little noodle-shop-turned-community-cafe that hosts a different restaraunt each day. Day to Day you could would into a cheeky college coffee shop, a fair trade restaurant or ARI's open cafe. It is a beautiful opportunity for groups to share their ideals and their tastes with others.

A local business owns the building and rents it to groups for about $20 a day, the groups then take care of their cooking, advertising, and atmosphere for the day. A student group at Utsunomiya University (right down the street from the cafe) is responsible for organizing the different groups and arranging the schedule, which is a great way for students to get involved in this project.

ARI was featured today and I was able to ride along to help out. I hovered between the dish washing sink and the egg frying pan just trying to do my part to keep the flow of clean plates and sunny side ups, it was great. As with most noodle shops/ local restaurants in Japan this one had an upstairs living area and another room for hosting small parties complete with dumbwaiter to shuttle food up from the kitchen.

I think they could add to the flavor and success of this project by renting out the living space to a college student and hosting parties/meetings for college groups in the other room, maybe opening up the cafe for concerts on Saturday nights it could be classic. When I first heard about the cafe six months ago I was immediately struck by its implications and hope to hear that one of you has opened one in the States before I get back...

I hope everyone is doing well, getting enough food and meeting new people. Life is relationships and we should be friends.

Peace Love and Music

Mike

Summer Thunder Storms

We have made it through the rainy season officially, now it is full fledged summer and a little on the warm side. Tonight are experiencing a nice little thunderstorm with lightning and raindrops. I gave a morning gathering today about non profits, entrepreneurialship, how to play the guitar, freedom, and the old testament, it was received warmly and I don't think I put anyone to sleep. I still need to work on writing outlines for my public speaking, but sometimes it works out for me without many notes. I spent the evening reading blogs about entrepreneurialship and non profits, there is a connection between the two and I think it could make a huge difference in how we look at saving the world and methods to get there. I hope everyone is eating well, go cook a meal and invite some friends over, Sunday night dinners are a favorite of mine and they should be a regular on your calender.

Peace Love and Thunderstorms

Mike

Guest Post

It is American independence day and the American contingent at ARI has organized a real shindig to celebrate life and culture. In this Kathy has rounded up volunteers from all over ARI to create a quintessential American barbeque with chicken, cornbread, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, chocolate chip cookies and homemade ice cream, there will be fireworks tonight.

We have a few visitors on campus this weekend including two former volunteers. One of these volunteers is my former roomate who rode his bike up from Chiba on Thursday to spend a few days at ARI. He was gracious enough to offer a few words as my first guest contributor to the blog, here is what he had to say (unedited) I give you Yumitaro Yamato:


Hi everyone.

I can listen to the music from outside and people chatting. I can smell the chicken being grilled. Yes, meeen today is July 4th. People are preparing for tonight 's BBQ. I know there were people prepared icecreams and cookies. These extraordinarily many flies are celebrating this day.
Oh happy day oh happy day.

On that note I am going to wander out to see how the grilling is going and listen to a little Eric Clapton.

Peace Love and Explosions

Mike