Why the Zeit Guy Chronicles?
09/13/2005
A question: Who is Zeit Guy?
An answer: A tea leaf floating on eddies of time.
That being said, Zeit Guy is a boomer, so nicknamed by some younger friends. The name is a pun on the German word zeitgeist¯ or spirit of the times. These friends tell me (from the stories I’ve told them) that I have been on the forward edge of many of the cultural and political waves that have been arising and rippling since the 60’s.
As part of staying attuned to the times in which we live, some twenty-five years ago I became a student of the works of Fernando Flores and Humberto Maturana. With this background I continue my explorations in understanding human living. These explorations center on language, action, biology, technology, politics and our affective lives—moods and emotions.
Interwoven with these threads is a lifetime of study, reflection, and practice in Asian philosophical traditions—Various varieties of Buddhism, Taoism and Advaita.
No one can say, and pass the laugh test, that they embody the zeitgeist of their generation. And I’m usually committed in what I say to meet this minimal standard. In addition, no Zeit Guy or Zeit Gal carries the entire generational spirit. So with a few misgivings, I adopt it as a nom de blog. Whether I have something “spirited” to say, time, as in all things, will tell.
I also write haiku and in other short forms. They can be found at splashing bird and Born of Silence.
Richard aka Zeit Guy