MLK Day Or President's Day?

Hallo... I connected with some friends and asked, whether their company gave them a holiday on MLK Day or President's Day? Most responded, President's Day and said, they have never received a holiday on MLK Day. Those who work in the public sector, automatically qualify. Personally, as CEO or decision-maker of my own company (some day), I would opt for MLK Day any day!

Why? When I think of MLK, I think about... Civil Rights, and am very grateful that we live in a time where civil rights, civil liberties, and all those wonderful freedom principles are the norm. Maybe that is a bit of a stretch, as we humans need more of an open-mind, but at least the roots have been grounded and ideas such as equality have been explored.

Yes, we are grateful for the presidents and glad they were born and guided America, but celebrating President Lincoln's birthday isn't that appealing to me. I would rather take the day off on MLK Day to walk down memory lane and retrace the steps to freedom. We have come far in this expanding yet shrinking world and there is further to go.

-zensufi-

Flying To Titan

Hallo... finally Huygens (the probe) landed on Titan (Saturn's largest of 33 moons) and sent us back images of another fascinating world! Would love to move to a different planet or moon and experience it, but I think I will take a pass on Titan as it is less than minus 250 degrees! A bit too cold for my warm blood. I wonder if moons are better to live on versus planets.

Imagine a futuristic dinner invitation... "Come on over for dinner! I live in Sector 4, Muddy Fluid Lake, Titan, Saturn, Milky Way which is a few planets away from Venus. Oh and by the way, you will be several years older by the time to get to my house for dinner, so let's make an appointment now and don't forget to wear your super warm down jumpsuit!"

Check out: NASA on Saturn

-zensufi-

Pay Attention

Hallo... last year, I attended a zen author's book reading and he told us this story...

An American scholar went to Japan and met with a zen master, who was also famous as a calligrapher. He asked the master to write down the best wisdom on a scroll for him to take back to America. The master took his paint brush and drew a Japanese character on a scroll. The scholar asked him what it meant and he replied, "Attention." So, the scholar said, "Okay, but what does it mean?"

Then the master took his paint brush again and painted the same character next to the first one. The scholar got a bit irritated and said, "I can see that you have written Attention Attention but please understand, that I have to take it with me to America and explain this wisdom to those in academia, so what does it mean?"

The master again, took his paint brush and wrote the same character for the third time. By now, the scholar was very irritated and said, "I can see Attention Attention Attention, but what does it really mean???" So, the master turned to the scholar and said, "It means, simply Attention, pay Attention."

Nice, huh?

-zensufi-

Thinking Outside The Jar

Hallo... so, this little kid I know comes up to me with a smile on his face and says, "I have a riddle for you. When is a door not a door?" He sure got me thinking, because how can a door not be a door? Is this a zen koan that might take me a lifetime to figure out? I threw some answers at the kiddie, but got loud, "NOs!" in return, so gave in for the sake of a lower decibel.

Then he says, "Give up? A door is not a door when it is AJAR! Get it? Ajar as in - a jar! As in a cookie jar!" Yah, he got me there, so I decided to change one of my mottos from 'thinking outside the box' to 'thinking outside the jar'. Cookie jar, jam jar, peanut butter and jelly jar, it does not matter, just outside the jar. So I am off to be creative and explore the unknown. Are you outside the jar yet?

-zensufi-

Who Is The Problem?

Hallo... when something goes wrong who is the problem? Is it you or the weather or the other person across the street? I wonder how many times it can be an outside factor or whether it is always internal. So, I decided to run a little self experiment, it being 2005 and a good time to change (try to change sounds good too). The next time I am told, 'you are the problem' - hopefully not soon, I will remove myself from the situation. No words, no argument, no nothing, just a trot to greener pastures. I mean, why subject oneself to a knowingly disturbing situation, right? A toast to a new outlook... hear hear!!

-zensufi-

Desert To Rain

Hallo... I am back to cold rain after a wonderful time by the sunny beach and then in the sunny desert. Sunny is a nice word and I miss the warmth it brings. Why do vacations have to be so short? Well, it was my first proper vacation in 2+ years, so I guess I do feel cheated out of time. This year I vow to capture time in a bottle and drink and drink...

-zensufi-

Are We Humbled Now?

Hallo... given the tsunami is only made of water, it swept away over a 100K earthlings and caused extensive damage to our physical surroundings and souls! Are we humbled now? Do we finally realize that we are a mere speck in the vast cosmos? Deep thoughts have taken over.

-zensufi-