The subtle art of expressing love

Won't you let me see your smile?

The young tourists came to San Francisco for the memorial service and scattering of remains, and for many other reasons. They stood under Sutro Tower, having their picture taken, freshly kicked out from the closed bakery -- damn French bakers! Enough time had passed that perspective granted some choice, yet the pain will never leave, will always bend the surface convex, the paths traject oblique.

This sweet touch, passing and forever, what is a moment and what is it not? I touch the cool glass with my fingers and rest my elbow on the sill in the train. I cannot tell you how I think of you often, dear Kim, to share the mundane of your absence. What you're missing, endless details about your absence. The irony is lost on me, too. The familiar landscape passes that we knew together, it goes by again passing this window. Did it really happen, were we once together, hand squeezing hand?

Marbles scattered, let's greet the brand new day. We'll look around round round. Look arouunnnnnouunnnoouunnnound.

Courage to change the things we can.

It's useful to make a balance sheet at night. It can be just in the mind, but it can also be in writing if you are inclined that way. Make a balance sheet: "How often have I felt lovingness toward another person today?" On the other side of the sheet put: "How often have I felt anger, hurt, resentment, rejection, fear, anxiety today, when confronting other people?" Then total it up and if the balance is on the debit side, make a resolution to change it. Every good shopkeeper makes a balance sheet at the end of the day, and if this merchandise doesn't have good customer acceptance, obviously he will change it.

It's a skill. It's not an inbred character fault or ability. It's a skill to change oneself again and again until all impurities have been cleansed. It's not because other people are so lovable. They're not. If they were they'd be roaming around in the god realms....

There is a lot to learn in this realm and that is its purpose. It is a continual adult education class; that is what this whole human realm is designed for. Not for the purpose of finding some comfort, not in order to have riches, wealth, possessions. Not to become famous or to change the world. People have many ideas. Life is strictly an adult education class, and this is the most important lesson, namely to cultivate and make the heart grow. There is no lesson more important....

Most people are looking for someone to love them. Some people find a few people to love them and then maybe love back. But some people are unfortunate and cannot find anyone. They become bitter and resentful. Yet really it works exactly the other way around. If we ourselves are loving, then we find innumerable loving people around, because everybody wants to be loved. That someone loves us doesn't mean that we are loving. The other person is feeling the love. We don't feel a thing. All we feel is gratification that somebody has found us lovable. That is another ego support, to make the ego bigger. But loving others goes in the direction of making the ego smaller.

The more love we can extend, the more people we can include in that love, and the more love we have. What we can generate, that much we have within us. It is a very simple equation but few people see it that way. Everybody is looking for more people to love them. It doesn't work. It's absurd, but we have so many absurdities in our lives.

...from "Being Nobody, Going Nowhere" by Ayya Khema

Won't you come out to play?

The sun is up, the sky is blue,
it's beautiful, and so are you.

E: peaceful, pleasant dreams.

News for you all: the drummer was Paul.