Category Archives: 06/25/2020

What I know of monastic life consists of chants and prayers, sitting zazen, daily chores, eating and sleeping. It’s pretty much busy-work to keep their mind off their life in an “idle hands are the devil’s workshop” kind of way. How to fill the time is every teacher-master’s nightmare. There is only so much toContinue reading “November 01-C, 2022”

It is never any more difficult than stepping into the day and doing what needs to be done there. We clutter things up with plans and agendas, willing this, wanting that, wondering “When is it going to be our turn?”– waiting for something to happen that will be like a gift from some fairy godmother,Continue reading “November, 1st Week, 2022”

There is what we do to pay the bills, and there is what we pay the bills to do. What do you pay the bills to do? What do you live to do? Doing what is life itself for you? Spending your money in the right ways is important, and spending your time in theContinue reading “October 31-A, 2022”

Oscar Wilde said, “A bore is someone who deprives you of solitude without providing you with company.” Who talks constantly without saying anything. Robert Burns could have had them in mind with his, “O, wad some Power the giftie gie us. To see oursels as ithers see us!” Seeing ourselves clearly, accurately, just as weContinue reading “October 29-B, 2022”

We have lost the “we-ness” that holds things together. There is no generic “we” that we can count on being there, anywhere. Who comprises the “we” we call we? Who are we talking about when we talk about “we”? I’m talking about the fifteen, or so, regular readers/responders who drop in to see what IContinue reading “October 27-A, 2022”

Everybody has their own story/stories, their own way of looking at things, thinking about things… It’s a wonder. I cherish a restaurant filled with people living their own life, more or less. And a movie theater, a football stadium, a continent, a planet… I want to listen to each of them as they say what’sContinue reading “October 26-A, 2022”

We are always awaiting the next thing, wondering how we will respond, waiting to see, trusting ourselves to pull another rabbit out of the hat and surprise ourselves again with the range of our repertoire and the depth of our capabilities. We are amazing. First grade–remember that? Talk about a shock to our system! YankingContinue reading “October 25-B, 2022”

Living to be who we are (When we are, what we are, where we are) is much easier than living to be happy, wealthy, successful, admired, popular, etc. Living to be “one thus come,” just as we are in each situation as it arises, as a sequoia might do it, or a mountain lion, orContinue reading “October 25-A, 2022”

Jesus was a rogue prophet in a straight-laced world. All prophets are. They are not fit for the culture they are born into, and rather than adjust themselves to the culture, their task is to adjust the culture to the truth of what’s what. We are always missing the point, or missing something about theContinue reading “October 22-A, 2022”

We are alone against the conditions and circumstances of our life, and we have everything we need. It comes tucked inside our DNA alongside our heart and soul. Every living thing comes out of the egg or womb ready to meet what is waiting for it. Human beings are no exception. We only have toContinue reading “October 21-B, 2022”

Living for the good times, looking for the action– any action will do– is running from all that matters, denying all that is threatening/disappointing/unwanted… hiding from the truth that cannot be borne… And it is the way of life for a majority of the world’s population. And that isn’t going to change. Our work isContinue reading “October 21-A, 2020”

Living toward having preferences without opinions or judgment will keep us within the normal distribution curve of balance and harmony. Having wants and desires without having to have them works the same way. Being clear about the source of our fear, hatred, anger, sadness, anxiety, depression, jealousy, envy, resentment, etc. will help restore balance andContinue reading “October 19-A, 2022”