SERENITY NOW!!

These days, I'm looking for serenity in the form of Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism. Zen. I've been re-reading Shunryu Suzuki's Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. It's taught me a lot about accepting flaws, stop stewing, and the right way to remember things. That you should remember an event just as it was, leaving out any biases that occur when you hang on to the emotions that went with it. This is where Proud Old Men come from who talk about nothing but the "Glory Days".
I also learned that if you're too idealistic you'll go nuts and kill yourself. The gap between your ideals and what's actually possible is wider than any bridge, which will frustrate you to the point of extreme forfieture. When I told Jim about this idea, he told me how Native Americans will leave a minor flaw in something their making(clothes, bags, etc.) as a reminder that nothing's perfect. This reminded me of the medicine bag he made me- there's beads along the ends of all the fringes save one. This makes the medicine bag that much more important to me.
So I'm in search of serenity, but I'm not doing a very good job. Sure, I'm reading the texts, but I still haven't stopped for a serious zazen. I tried sitting once and it wasn't even a minute before I turned to play with the dog who'd been watching me so inquisitively while I sat. He even licked my ears. =^.^=
I need to continue and either hope my dog catches on & lets me zazen in peace, or I'll have to shut him out of my room. Anyway, that's how I plan on getting my Serenity Now. To me, it seems a lot more helpful than what Frank Castanza was doing. Speaking of Frank Costanza-- Festivus is coming! December 23rd. Mark your calendars!


I really don't know about Christmas anymore. Part of me wants to say I'm not of that religion & I celebrate it only as lip-service. Y'know- to score presents. Maybe I'm thinking about not celebrating Christmas so I can get out of buying presents.
I think it requires a re-evaluation. If I celebrate Christmas, what would be my reasons? I'd said before that I saw it as a day of peace. A chance to kick back and not be under any pressure to get a million things done before the sun sets. But Jim enlightened me once about 'treats' and 'rewards'. He said, if I'm going to wait until I've done something good before treating myself I may as well go back to the card table. Like Dale Cooper had said: Every day, give yourself a present. Don't plan for it, just let it happen. Whether it be a new shirt, a nap in your favorite chair, or a nice hot cup of black coffee. I can have my day of peace any time I want. And more than once a year if I want to. Maybe I'll invent my own holiday. It'll definatel be a lot calmer than Festivus, though. I can guarantee it.

Peace.