Woke early again, 3:45am, practiced breathing exercises and then left the apartment at 4:20am. Walked to the track, along the way another bunch of pearl white flowers appeared at my feet so I placed them into the offering bag. Completed three sets of muscle exercises then walked to the beach, sat in my usual place to watch the sunrise, then walked to the Jewel Tree. After making the offering of flowers and rice I was able to closely observe the offering which the Pink Angel had made yesterday. On the south side of the tree were the ring of magenta flowers and after I had left yesterday the Pink Angel made a second offering on the east side of the tree, purple and yellow flowers arranged into a heart shape and in the center of the heart was a full kiwi.
When I arrived home I decided to watch the beginning sequence of The Last Temptation of Christ. When the prophet which Jesus was to carry the cross for was brought before the crowd to be crucified the Roman commander read the charges, "This man standing naked before Rome...", and this reminded me how shame plays a role in human society and behavior. It is bad enough to be hours away from death, the fear of the unknown and destruction of the ego weighing down upon the mind. When physical pain and being shamed before peers is added to the death sequence, one's naked body hanging helplessly upon a wooden cross for all to witness, the cruel futility and terror of life comes sharply into focus. I decided not to be witness to the crucifixion and instead transitioned to Plato's Phaedo, where Socrates attempts to prove the existence of the human soul both before birth and after death. I continued to think about the man who was tied to the cross, moments away from having his hands and feet nailed to it. He knew it was much too late to change his fate, all was lost and decided. He had come into the world naked and was now to leave it naked, shamed beyond measure.
