[2] Deficiencies found in standard urban living

• [2.1] People can too often appear completely uncaring when they're really not
 
• [2.1.1] -- In a self-serving population, it is difficult to see beyond antagonism and create effective bonds

 
16 October 1997 -- Deterred by perceived competitive animosity
15 February 1998 -- Looking for good signals
7 May 1998 -- The duties and reward of community
18 September 1998 -- Disconnecting myself, once again
26 March 1999 -- Slowing to the familiar halt
29 September 1999 -- More time by myself
12 August 2002 -- Reconciling my influences
18 November 2002 -- The defiant search within
24 July 2003 -- In the field of the determinants
14 December 2003 -- A defiant dullness
 
• [2.1.2] -- Especially troublesome in harboring this resentment is the recognition that these are also human beings

 
4 December 1997 -- Reactions to the harshness of the elements
10 July 1998 -- Walking about in the terrain
11 May 1999 -- Looking for a good place among many
11 September 2000 -- A peaceful perception
 
• [2.2] Artificiality and excess

 
•  [2.2.1] Disregarding "what really matters" in the name of self-service or economic growth

 
• [2.2.1.1] Worldly pursuits often stand in direct opposition to life's own enrichment

 
9 September 1997 -- A change in viewpoint
12 April 1998 -- Life's victory over death
8 June 1998 -- Watching the growth
22 April 1999 -- Work is finished for the day
22 October 2000 -- The inevitable path forward
12 March 2001 -- Splendor is fully at hand
27 October 2002 -- Perched above the struggle below
23 February 2003 -- The questioning of a cause
30 January 2004 -- The directors and the directed

• [2.2.1.2] Commercial and corporate concerns tend to downplay the value of true importances

 
16 September 1997 -- Serving just one master, not two
12 December 1997 -- Placed at the proper location
23 May 1998 -- Needing to slow down
10 September 1998 --  The time to make a change
22 May 2000 -- The masters of my freedom
11 September 2003 -- The structures and their processes
 
• [2.2.2] The ultimate folly of placing hope in worldy possessions and other shallow enticements

 
13 August 1997 -- Evaluating the components of modern living
27 October 1997 -- The "improved" standard of living
28 December 1997 -- Chasing what does not satisfy
28 October 1998 -- Coming in out of the cold rain
11 November 2000 -- Making do in scant surroundings
3 December 2003 -- The limitations against preference
 
• [2.3] The tyranny of repetitive routine and the imprisonment of interlocking obligations

 
• [2.3.1] Constraints and hardships of having and maintaining one's place in a social collective
 
• [2.3.1.1] Frenzied adherence to tight schedules and high activity-loads to stay connected
 
• [2.3.1.1.1] For an undersocialized person, almost any commitment looks daunting and questionable

 
20 December 1997 -- Some very short days
23 May 1999 --  A temporary rest from ongoing burden
22 September 1999 -- Wondering what to do
1 December 1999 -- Some time away from the load
4 January 2000 -- A tendency towards rest
3 September 2000 -- A time for rest, not labor
12 July 2001 -- My independent enterprise
23 February 2002 -- Justice and my assignment
7 October 2002 -- A suggestive sort of calm
25 August 2003 -- The school must go on
20 October 2003 -- In tide and time's throes
 
• [2.3.1.1.2] Commitments in the plural, and often unnecessary ones, combine with harmful, overloading effect
 
• [2.3.1.1.2.1] It is typically difficult to see individual obligations objectively and one at a time, apart from a menacing whole

 
13 October 1997 -- Suffering from constraints in the aggregate
9 December 1999 -- Letting it snow
8 January 2000 -- An enforcement of abstinence
3 November 2000 -- Getting things started early
5 September 2001 -- The inescapable realm
24 January 2002 -- More matters before me
25 May 2002 -- Privileges, earned and denied
7 August 2002 -- Apart from full refuge
30 July 2003 -- Amid unavoidably inherent avoidances
 
• [2.3.1.1.2.2] Scheduling quirks and compulsive activity often assemble damaging quantities of workload, both perceived and actual into long, unbroken stretches

 
8 October 1998 -- Attending to duties, while indoors
29 July 1999 -- Looking for the optimal load
12 August 1999 -- Letting the campfire burn
22 August 2000 -- Dawn's first promptings
17 January 2001 -- Imagination reaches its limit
20 November 2001 -- Not inclined to hurry
16 May 2002 -- In considerable motion
 
• [2.3.1.2] The competition and duties to achieve social standing and proper compliance (e.g., "the rat race")

 
11 May 1998 -- A brief visit to town
6 July 1998 -- Assuming the sole rank
26 August 1998 -- A walk upstream, against the current
15 June 1999 -- Slowing down enough to recognize truth
11 September 1999 -- The many factors that govern
10 May 2000 -- A moment of stability
9 May 2001 -- Away from the pointless fight
4 July 2001 -- As free as can be for now
1 September 2002 -- Finding a good resting place
13 February 2003 -- A sustained time in enclosure
10 April 2003 -- Facing the load at last
16 August 2003 -- Considerations of my classification
26 October 2003 -- The call to stay clean

• [2.3.2] The dulling effects of living by a set schedule (e.g., "the rut")

 
25 August 1997 -- Shedding the artificial routine
 9 January 1998 -- A change in the winter routine
21 January 1998 -- Keeping a proper schedule
29 July 1998 -- Nothing is plugged in
 
• [2.4] Becoming overwhelmed and consumed by concern over the irrelevant and less-important

 
• [2.4.1] The urban setting and its constructs can cause a distorted view of true significance and misplaced emphasis

 
• [2.4.1.1] Large numbers of preoccupations and tasks divert one's attention from what really matters

 
2 August 1998 -- Stopping to consider my obligations
25 January 1999 -- Enough to work on for the moment
30 June 1999 -- Climbing away from misery
6 October 1999 -- Focused on the unchanging
13 April 2000 -- Temporarily slowing the pace
18 May 2000 -- The voices of guidance
27 June 2000 -- An effort to find relief
5 August 2001 -- Latching on to genuine leisure
10 April 2002 -- Looking to cross over
9 June 2002 -- Paradise, but at a cost
19 October 2002 -- Paying attention to my sources
13 June 2003 -- A transient appearance of doubt
 
• [2.4.1.2] Temptations to the life of lesser growth abound (e.g., avoiding hard choices and effort)

 
20 November 1997 -- Weakened from following the easy road
30 September 1998 -- Looking back, from a safe distance
7 May 1999 -- Out to the pass and back
8 March 2000 -- To notice and to appreciate
19 April 2001 -- Imagination and its limits
 
• [2.4.2] A tendency arises to over-react to small or inconsequential crises of the moment; to become impatient for completion and/or relief
 
• [2.4.2.1] Needless oversensitivity and misperceptions inflate the appearance of difficulty
 
13 September 1997 -- Adjustment of concentration and focus
9 February 1999 -- Holding out against the weather
22 June 1999 -- The proper place to fix my gaze
11 November 1999 -- A temporary break from my feelings
11 February 2000 -- An examination of essentials
7 June 2000 -- The sun has returned
23 April 2001 -- Struggling in the silence
15 October 2001 -- A variety of appearances
26 April 2002 -- The uncertain path to finding rest
11 March 2003 -- The necessity of my substance
 
• [2.4.2.2] There is an invitation to overexertion that brings on too much at once
 
20 September 1997 -- The insignificance of small problems
22 July 1998 -- Recognizing true importances
13 October 1998 -- Stopping at last to listen
7 July 1999 -- It really isn't that important
19 June 2000 -- In need of someplace to go
18 July 2000 -- Awaiting my entitlements
25 May 2001 -- Compensation for my burdens
29 August 2001 -- Time spent in motion
7 February 2002 -- Trapped indoors again
4 June 2003 -- That strange call to exertion