June 05, 2026 – C

All life has preferences. All life eats, breathes and sleeps–and knows when, where and how to do it. That is called “taking care of our basic needs.” The further from meeting our basic needs we get, the more our preferences get in our way–and we have to know when to over-ride our preferences, and when to disappear them entirely. The old Sufi and Taoist and Zen and Buddhist masters had it down to a fine art, and knew when to do what, when and where. How much better off they were than the general population of their day is a difficult call to make. It probably matters not. After a certain point on the “Things That Matter” spectrum, it doesn’t count whether something matters or not. Life Eats Life–always has, always will. If things live long enough, they will likely be eaten, before they die, or after. From that point of view, the things we take seriously don’t matter much, if at all. The things that matter, matter here, now, and the further we get beyond here, now, they less they matter until the significance of the things that matter, matters not to anyone keeping score. And “taking the long view” puts things in their place here, now, puts things in perspective, and makes it easier for us to “do our work and stand aside, letting nature take its course,” and acquiescing to the flow of the Tao through space and time.”