I feel like I should say something...
…but there isn't much to say.
This is my last week at the Main Street Papa Johns. After that I'll take a week off then start at either Lee Highway or Vienna. I haven't talked to them lately but I know the management at both stores and they know I'm good at my job and there's almost always a need for more drivers. I think I'm going to try to switch from closing (5pm-midnight) to opening (11am-7/8pm) because I think it'd be healthier for me. I like nights but when I'm mopping the floor at 1am it's hard to get to sleep before 5. Then with the sun up and people outside mowing lawns and whatnot I don't really get a good night's sleep.
I keep thinking of things to do with my week off. Clean my room out for sure. Try to exercise some. Try to get some real actual meditation time in.
Long-term I still think I want to head out to Vegas after this summer and become a dealer. That stuff about completely abandoning everything and everyone in my past I don't think is a good idea anymore. While new surroundings would probably do me good; thinking that I could do away with my past is silly. It was foolish and a little cowardly to think that way. I am a continuation of my parents and everyone I've ever known.
This is one of the Buddhist teachings that I've been exploring. I don't know exactly where I stand religiously anymore but reading Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's books makes me feel... much more at peace than I've been for a long time. I'm reading The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching right now. It's funny how almost everything in Buddhism is numbered into interrelating sections. The Four Noble Truths. The Noble Eightfold Path. The Three Jewels. The Five Remembrances.
I've got that last one up on my door to remind me about certain truths. For the more Zen-minded of you here they are:
"A is not A. That is why it is truly A." [from the Diamond Sutra] A flower is not a flower. It is made only of non-flower elements - sunshine, clouds, time, space, earth, minerals, gardeners and so on. A true flower contains the whole universe. If we return any one of these non-flower elements to its source, there will be no flower. That is why we can say, "A rose is not a rose. That is why it is an authentic rose." We have to remove our concept of rose if we want to touch the real rose.
Actually, I guess I had a fair bit to say. If any of it was worthwhile in the least, well...
This is my last week at the Main Street Papa Johns. After that I'll take a week off then start at either Lee Highway or Vienna. I haven't talked to them lately but I know the management at both stores and they know I'm good at my job and there's almost always a need for more drivers. I think I'm going to try to switch from closing (5pm-midnight) to opening (11am-7/8pm) because I think it'd be healthier for me. I like nights but when I'm mopping the floor at 1am it's hard to get to sleep before 5. Then with the sun up and people outside mowing lawns and whatnot I don't really get a good night's sleep.
I keep thinking of things to do with my week off. Clean my room out for sure. Try to exercise some. Try to get some real actual meditation time in.
Long-term I still think I want to head out to Vegas after this summer and become a dealer. That stuff about completely abandoning everything and everyone in my past I don't think is a good idea anymore. While new surroundings would probably do me good; thinking that I could do away with my past is silly. It was foolish and a little cowardly to think that way. I am a continuation of my parents and everyone I've ever known.
This is one of the Buddhist teachings that I've been exploring. I don't know exactly where I stand religiously anymore but reading Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh's books makes me feel... much more at peace than I've been for a long time. I'm reading The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching right now. It's funny how almost everything in Buddhism is numbered into interrelating sections. The Four Noble Truths. The Noble Eightfold Path. The Three Jewels. The Five Remembrances.
I've got that last one up on my door to remind me about certain truths. For the more Zen-minded of you here they are:
- I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old.
- I am of the nature to have ill-health. There is no way to escape having ill-health.
- I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death.
- All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them.
- My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground on which I stand.
"A is not A. That is why it is truly A." [from the Diamond Sutra] A flower is not a flower. It is made only of non-flower elements - sunshine, clouds, time, space, earth, minerals, gardeners and so on. A true flower contains the whole universe. If we return any one of these non-flower elements to its source, there will be no flower. That is why we can say, "A rose is not a rose. That is why it is an authentic rose." We have to remove our concept of rose if we want to touch the real rose.
Actually, I guess I had a fair bit to say. If any of it was worthwhile in the least, well...