Water transport

There was a pond out back of where I was staying a couple of weeks ago in Arizona. So I took pix.

But what was really interesting to me was this boat, full of pond water, right next to the pond. Dunno what the story would be.

 

 

Gratitude Monday: Washing dishes

The world lost the corporeal manifestation of a force for peace last Friday. Thich Nhat Hanh, the founder of “engaged Buddhism”, peace activist and father of mindfulness died, aged 95, at his home monastery in Vietnam.

I chose the phrase “corporeal manifestation” because he of all people taught that the essence, the reality of a being does not begin with birth or end with death, and I truly believe that. Nhat Hanh’s teachings have enriched the world in general and me personally, a gift of immense grace and value and one for which I am deeply grateful.

I am so constituted as to be constantly in motion—if not physically, then mentally. It is very, very hard for me to stop and be. But Nhat Hanh tells us again and again that just being—in the moment—is when we are most connected with the universe. Even with my monkey brain I get that (although it is mortal difficult for me to put it into practice). But every once in a while, I pull back from my frenetic activity and focus on the moment and a simple task—say, washing dishes—I feel that connection and it brings such unexpected joy.

In 2009, when I was retracing the route of my pilgrimage 30 years earlier, I took a small detour to Village des Pruniers, the main monastery and retreat house of Nhat Hanh’s movement about 80km outside of Bordeaux. I walked around, attempted to meditate and took some photos. It was exactly what I needed then, and remembering that peacefulness is exactly what I need now.

Thich Nhat Hanh’s body is dead, but his teachings live. I am so grateful for that.

 

I lost my fun

There have been some interesting developments this week in various jurisdictions WRT the criminal enterprise that recently occupied the White House.

The Supreme Court ruled against the Kleptocrat in his lame attempt to block the National Archives from delivering documents requested by the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6^th Attack (on the Capitol). This leaves a hole through which you could drive a Panzer division in the arguments of Steve Bannon, Mark Meadows, Gym Jordan and others as they try to avoid testifying before the committee.

The committee has also invited Princess Sparkle Pony to testify on details of the timeline on that day, as she was urged multiple times to get the bloated orange tick to call off the mob that was invading the halls of Congress. This appearance (if she shows up) will be different from the swanning around she did for four years as a “special adviser” to the tick and not the kind of attention to which she’s accustomed.

New York Attorney General Letitia James has subpoenaed Bonespurs, Scrump and Sparkle Pony to give depositions in her civil investigation of decades of alleged fraudulent Trump Organization business practices. (Scrump and Pony’s brother Gums invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 500 times when he was deposed last summer.)

Several states have referred forged slates of “alternate” electors committed to the twice-impeached loser (a key element of the attempt to overthrow the free and fair election of 2020) to the Department of Justice for prosecution.

And Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis has requested a special grand jury to formally investigate TFG’s personal and by-proxy (looking at you, Lindsey) attempts to get the secretary of state to “find” enough favorable (non-existent) votes to tip the state’s electors his way.

Man, I would not want to be a waiter at Mar-a-Largo today.

In recognition of this interesting shift, my earworm for today is The Clash’s cover of “I Fought the Law”. Crank up the volume.

 

 

Falling light

Where I was staying in Arizona last week, sunsets were not the showstoppers that sunrises were. But they had their moments.