Fart, Fart

The Buddhists say there are eight winds. They are gain and loss, praise and ridicule, credit and blame, and suffering and joy. If you aren't aware of them, they will blow you away like dry leaves in an autumn breeze. For example, when someone praises you, and that tastes sweet, like candy in your mouth, you are being blown away by the wind of praise.

One day in ancient China a young man thought he had become enlightened. He wrote a poem to his master about how he was not blown by the eight winds. Then he sent it to his master who lived three hundred miles up the Yangtze River.

When his master read the poem, he wrote "Fart, Fart" on the bottom and sent it back.

The more the young man read those words, the more upset he got. At last he decided to visit his master. In those days, a three-hundred-mile trip up the Yangtze River was a very difficult journey.

As soon as he arrived, he went straight to his master's temple. "Why did you write this?" he asked, bowing. "Doesn't this poem show that I am no longer blown about by the eight winds?"

"You say that you are no longer blown by the eight winds," replied the master, "but two little farts blew you all the way up here."

What winds are blowing you?

-----from "Soul Stories" by Gary Zukav



I'm enjoying this book. Had to share this story with my readers, a little funny and thought-provoking contemplation for the second weekend of Autumn.

At last it is cooler here; by gosh, here it is 8:00 a.m. and only 64 degrees! I actually slept with a blanket on the bed for the whole night last night, and without the cooler or a fan to stir the air.

Our morning walk was cool and crisp and I even wore a shirt with long sleeves and enjoyed it.

My lover is feeling better and that's brought my spirits up as well. I missed our talks, our virtual snuggles, our secret whispers in the night. I'm headed his way later on THIS MONTH (oh yay, it's October!!!) for our second meeting; we will be spending part of that visit in a friend's cabin by the river near Red Wing (yes, that's where the boots come from). Ooh that sounds so wonderful! Waiting will be hard, but not quite as angst-y as anticipating that first "meet".

I have no cold weather clothing--i've been in Arizona for almost 20 years, and moved here from Pensacola, FL--and moved there from Atlanta, GA! To me, "cold weather gear" means long-sleeved t-shirts, sweatshirts with a hood, and thick socks to wear with my Birkenstocks. Oh, and long pants. Ha.

Another wonderful aspect of cooler weather is the return of Taza the Cook. I love to cook and bake, but when it is 82 degrees in the house, turning on the oven--or even the burners--seems counter-intuitive, to say the least. Yesterday I had company over and used the occasion as an excuse to make a big ol' peach and blackberry cobbler (I used frozen fruit). I've been trying to entice Chris to come over for some warm cobbler with vanilla ice cream, but so far he hasn't booked a flight. What's up with that? :)



Have a good weekend--relax, recharge, renew--and enjoy the beauty of the season change. Some say living well is the best revenge. I say if you are thinking about revenge, you aren't living well!

"May George Bush become enlightened in this very lifetime."

ciao for now~