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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (May 26, 2021)
RESENTMENT: Make anger serve constructive purpose Continued from page 4 another person9s intentions. The best way to get at another person9s intent is usually to ask them what was going on from their perspec- tive when the problem arose. We may water the seed of resentment because of what Buddhists call habit energy. If we are unaware that certain words or actions trig- ger resentment in us, we are unable to make a conscious decision about which seed to water4resentment or happi- ness. Instead we continue to follow our habitual patterns. Perhaps most signifi- cantly, we water the seed of resentment because we are human. Consequently we will sometimes make unwise and unhealthy choices. Reduce the suffering caused by resentment " Transform resentment into constructive anger. My wife and I were cross- country skiing along a trail set aside for non-motorized use. We came upon a narrow, steep section of trail chewed up by a snowmobile. After making it down to the bottom of the slope, I kept picturing myself taking revenge on the hapless snow- mobiler should he or she be so foolish as to cross my path. By the time we reached the parking lot, my wife and I had agreed that more con- structive action was called for 4 she spoke to the head of the snowmobile association who was located there at Ray Benson. He promised to contact members of his organiza- tion and remind them of the rules for trail use. Hearing this, the poison of resentment began to leach out of my mind, replaced with gratitude and renewed optimism that conflicts can be resolved. " Mindfulness techniques The practice of focusing our attention on our breath, observing when our mind wanders, and then escort- ing our attention back to the breath, enhances our awareness 4 which makes it easier for us to recognize which seeds we are currently watering. Mindfulness practice also helps to calm the mind, reducing our emotional reactivity. " Set an intention Setting a daily intention to water the seed of happiness enables us to choose wisely. " Learn to soothe our resentment The Zen Buddhist Monk Thich Nhat Hanh recom- mends that we don9t try to ignore or repress our feelings of resentment, but rather we learn to soothe our resent- ment, just as a parent soothes an upset infant. " Forgive the person who wronged us As long as we hold onto our resentment we remain bound to the per- son who treated us unjustly. Forgiveness undoes the knot of resentment. " Remind ourselves that we are fallible human beings Sometimes we don9t choose wisely. When we err, we can give ourselves a break. We compound our suffering when we beat our- selves up for our mistakes. Buddhists tell us that there is a storeroom in our mind that holds seeds of love and kindness, seeds of anger and resentment, seeds of happi- ness and contentment, seeds of envy and jealousy, seeds of gratitude and joy, seeds of understanding and compas- sion, and seeds of fear and hate. Choose wisely which seeds you water for they will manifest in the fertile soil of your mind and give shape and texture to your life. Wednesday, May 26, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Tales from a Sisters Naturalist by Jim Anderson Hail the hardy harlequins You just have to admit, those harlequin drakes are a showpiece. They look like they were posing for Roy Low, a long-time birder of Waldport, when he found them all ganged up on the rocks on the Oregon Coast, enjoying the crashing surf. Harlequin ducks can be found all winter hanging out along the Oregon coast, on the western side of the North American continent, and also along the coast of Maine on the other side of our good old U.S. of A. Their names relate to their unique feather pattern that resembles harlequin clowns of the 17th Century who per- formed in Europe and the United Kingdom. While the performances of the harlequin characters in the theatre is silent, our feathered variety are pretty noisy, especially during mating season. Well, now that I think of it, I9ll bet the human harlequins could also be pretty noisy off stage, especially during the mating season& Harlequin ducks leave the coast during mating sea- son and get down to busi- ness inland, along the banks of the coastal streams. The drakes are anything but quiet retiring ducks; their unduck- like squeaks can be heard long distances from their nest sites, which has given PHOTO BY ROY W. LOWE A group of darlequin male (drake) ducks posing on the rocks on the Oregon Coast. them another name 4 <Sea Mouse.= The scientific name for the harlequin duck is as unique as they are: genus Histrionicus, and species Histrionicus, named for the <actors, and lords and ladies= they9re supposed to resemble. According to notes on the Cornell Lab9s birding website, harlequin ducks suf- fer more broken bones than any other waterfowl spe- cies. Rehabbing lab x-rays and museum specimens have determined that most adults live with multiple healed fractures; it9s just part of their everyday life. The oldest recorded harlequin duck is a male of 20-years and 9 months, seen in British Columbia and identified by its band in 2014, having been banded in Alberta in 1995. Which prompts me, under the heading of <unsolic- ited advice,= to send you to Cornell9s website: https:// www.allaboutbirds.org/guide overview, where you will find lots of bird hints that will make you and your bird- ing days happier. And then, if you9re just getting started birding, and you have one of those new- fangled cell phones and would like to get in on bird- ing9s newest perks, down- load Cornell9s free Merlin app. Not only will you be able to listen to 4 and begin to understand 4 the whole wonderful world of birds, but you can listen to male harlequin ducks as they shout to their mates, <Here I come honey!= or, the other, more sinister, shout, <Get outta here; she9s mine!= I have a hunch you9d like me to tell you right where to go on the Coast to see those beautiful harlequin drakes, but they may already be up on the Santiam River, where Sue and I have seen them, or other inland streams and rivers, getting ready to raise new harlequins. That said, here9s a rough idea of where Roy was when he shot that gorgeous photo of those harlequins posing for their lady-loves: <Today, I counted harlequin ducks at high tide at Yaquina Bay. The area was the south jetty from the bridge to the finger jetty at the west end of the gull puddle parking area. I got an accurate count of 45 birds, a new high count for me. It9s possible additional birds could have been located fur- ther west along the south jetty or along the north jetty.= I should also mention that if you are along one of the inland streams and happen to come upon a pair looking for a nesting site, stay back away from them and just watch. It9s the female who picks the the site and it could be on a cliff overlooking the stream, or in a big tree cav- ity 4who knows what she9ll settle on. The ducks enjoy each other9s company so well, that once a pair is formed, it can be for life. TELLING THE STORIES OF THE SISTERS COMMUNITY Through boom and bust, good times and hard times, for more than four decades. THE NUGGET NEWSPAPER VALUES OUR READERS We’re here for you and we deeply appreciate your support. Your supporting subscriptions help make it possible for Nugget staff and freelance writers to continue telling the stories of the Sisters community through changing times. The Nugget Newspaper 541-549-9941 • 442 E. Main Ave., Sisters 21 Readers who would like to make a fi nancial contribution to keep professional community journalism thriving in Sisters can visit www.NuggetNews.com and click on “Subscribe & Support” or drop a check in the mail to: The Nugget, PO Box 698, Sisters, OR 97759
