Puppy love

Accidentally decapitated my office Kwan Yin today. I guess this means she's no longer needed here.

I had a productive morning, but my mind keeps trying to hijack my brain into unproductive daydreaming this afternoon. I wish I could cut a deal with it or something: there's absolutely nothing I can do to follow its dictates or the wishes of my heart right now.

Still, it keeps following me around and tugging at me, trying to get my attention. Maybe if I could just say, "Look, I understand what you're asking for, and I can't do anything about it this minute. Could you maybe just give me a few months to relax and we'll get back to this later?"

Some Buddhists talk about the mind as though it's a mischevious puppy that struggles to do what's asked of it. The solution they suggest is mindfulness meditation, a technique that teaches practitioners to gently and compassionately redirect their minds back to a calm, central place.

Clearly, I need to return to my meditation practice. This puppy is leaping up all over me with its enthusiastically wagging tail, trying to lick my face. I really want to stop and cuddle it, and I'd love to give it what it wants, but that's just not within my control right now.

Beautiful FoV Peeps

Hey my dears, many of you have been stepping up to give Abe and Kelly lots of love, but this is just a quick reminder: when I talked to them via Skype last week, I could see that they could use a little more of it. If you've texted them or contacted them in the last week or so, thank you! If not, could you send them a little more love?

Thanks so much, beloveds.