The Monk Must Write

Have not stopped thinking about illusions since our recent trip to Dallas. Must write about the biggest fitness center I have EVER seen ( maybe the biggest in fact), and what it means. Is it a substitute for mother nature and the great outdoors, of which there is little in the Dallas area? Is it a giant cathedral to the god of youth and vigor? Is it's spaciousness a needed visual to combat the canyon-like streets with tall houses and little space between?

The whole place (the fitness center and its surrounding planned community) felt like a giant human-sized hamster cage. Except for the inefficiency of urban sprawl, I was oddly not offended. It is a best effort at providing a liveable environment for the dwellers of this young and industrious city. To get a visual, play the video: http://www.cooperlife.com/index.php?id=4&s=5

The deeper questions plague me though, as they always did when I was a suburban dweller. How does one find meaningful relationship around the communal industry of retail consuming? Especially now that our Birkenstocks are made in China.

I imagined myself out there living on one of those barren streets being a "rent-a-grandma" for the young mothers who have struck out to find their fortunes in Dallas and whose own mothers live far away. I have an ache in my heart for the brokenness of our culture, and a fear of both the illusions that serve as its band-aids, and our vulnerability to media-created ideologies.