Monday, April 27, 2009

It's Alive It's ALIVE

Hello Friends,

I'm sorry it has been such a long time since my last blog. I haven't felt well, have been dealing with a lung infection, etc., and really haven't felt at all creative. When you have Fibromyalgia, you just do the basic things to keep you going. That is particularly so when you aren't feeling well. You just don't have any energy for extras.

Other than my not feeling well, it has been a good week and a half! I have been busy, too, with working, various appointments and such. One nice thing, the lovelife has returned. I had a feeling it would, though, just in case, I was prepared for the event that it wouldn't. Picture me with a big smile.

This past Saturday I had to take Roscoe (my guinea pig) to the vet to check out a growth on his eyeball, and it was time for his 6-month check-up. I was worried about him. The vet numbed his eyeball and took a sample to be sent out to a cytology lab. Luckily, the vet called today to say it was just fat and isn't anything to worry about. He has to lose some weight (he's on a diet) and she thinks that as he does lose weight the fat on his eyeball will go away, too. Roscoe is very unhappy about the diet and peed in his pellets bowl twice yesterday because he wanted to eat something like a cherry tomato instead. That made the vet laugh! (He accidentally pees in his pellets maybe once a year, so I know it was intentional.)

I've been exercising the best I can with not being able to breathe. I missed a whole week of exercise, and was only able to do a small bit of yoga. I'm back at it today, with my trainer's help, and got in a full workout.

Tonight I went to the theater and saw "State of Play," the new Russell Crowe, et al., flick. I was pleased with the film and the mystery in the plot. I enjoyed myself immensely and would give it an A-. (My A's and A+'s are reserved for the best of the best.) If you like to be on the edge of your seat and involved in the nature of a plot, this is a good movie for you to see. Also, there wasn't a lot of graphic violence or language, and no sex or nudity, if that is important to you.

I went to Temple Sunday before last. The dharma talk was about how everything is impermanent and transitory, like the blossoms on the cherry trees, and the seasons. Our priest was speaking from his home temple in Japan (we see him on a big-screen TV with the help of Skype-it's quite amazing!). He spoke about some of the things he's seeing in Japan that remind him of the transitory, impermanent nature of life, like the white swans flying to their summer home in Siberia. He also talked about how this transitory, impermanent nature of life is natural and that we need to be natural with it, realizing it is the true nature of existence. I got an idea for a haiku and started taking notes during the dharma talk. (Bad Buddhist!)

Seasons of life change
Swans fly to Siberia
It's just natural

The natural, transitory and impermanent nature of life could fuel hundreds of haikus. Of course, for you Christians, and fans of The Byrds (and the song Turn Turn Turn), you may be thinking of the scripture in Ecclesiastes, which says that for everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven. Since I don't have a Bible handy, I'm paraphrasing, but you undoubtedly know to what I am referring. I don't know if every religion or philosphy addresses this naturalness of impermanence, but I'll bet most do. It is a fundamental reality. It is such a simple concept, but it is so deep and powerful at the same time. It is the basis of so much truth and not accepting this truth causes soooooo much suffering! We try sooooo hard to hold on to things that cannot possibly be permanent, things that are, by their very nature, transitory and impermanent. We have so many unhealthy attachments. Here is a quote from the Diamond Sutra.

By detachment from appearances, abide in Real Truth.
So I tell you, thus shall you think of all this fleeting world,
A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream;
A flash of lightning in a summer cloud,
A flickering lamp, a phantom, a dream.

So now I leave you to dream my dreams of this night...

In gassho,
Jun-ri

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