Why Buddhism Is True

Now that I'm not in school anymore (a blog posting for another time) I have lots of free time to pursue interests and loves I haven't had the time for. One love is reading. I got my love for reading at an early age. My dad was a voracious and fast reader (I'm quite a slow reader.) He could easily read two books or more in a day! My mother was the town librarian for many years, so I was surrounded by readers and reading.  I'm a voracious reader, as well, but I haven't had time for leisure reading in over two years. Now that the holidaze (note the spelling on that. LOL!) I have ample time to dive back in. I will read anything and everything from comic books and biographies to history (Revolutionary War history is one of my favorite history topics!) and science fiction. 

I'm an inherently curious person, and my interest in the self runs deep. Buddhism, mindfulness, nonattachment, meditation, metaphysics mixed with anatomy, chemistry, and even mind-altering/mind-expanding drugs; these are topics that fascinate me to no end. Exploring the depths of the mind-body connection/experience is a source of endless fascination and curiosity. I truly believe there is “more going on” than we can see, or allow ourselves to see. 

That said, my first book to relaunch my “reading career” is Why Buddhism Is True by Robert Wright. My friend of almost 40 years, Dan, sent me the book knowing it would something I would enjoy. Thank you so much, Dan. Now, let the reading begin!

The Zen of Zappa

“If you end up with a boring miserable life because you listened to your mom, your dad, your teacher, your priest, or some guy on television telling you how to do your shit, then you deserve it.”
— Frank Zappa

Breaking Down Goals

My dad is full of "Dadisms", those nuggets of wisdom disguised as metaphors or stories in the way that only a dad can tell. My dad has a great one though, "Keep chopping and the chips will start flying." As much as I roll my eyes at the silliness of the delivery of his advice, he's so right. It's one I make sure I remember when I feel overwhelmed. I have to break each goal down into its smaller tasks. Doing so makes the goal seem not so daunting. And conquering the smaller tasks keeps me motivated to keep moving forward. I think so many of us get derailed on our goals because we don't break a task down like that. It's something we could all learn to do more, I think.