Sorry I haven't written...that cold I told you about turned into some kind of bronchitis. I've been too busy coughing to type. I've been reading books and watching the news hour.

The country's gone to war and San Francisco's gone to hell. It's been reported that the protests are costing the city more than half a million dollars a day, and the Mayor has promised to take it out of the budget for health care, and the programs for the homeless. As I've grown older, I've become leary of strong opinions, right or left, it doesn't matter... I think strong opinions close your mind to new ideas and changing stituations. I think strong opinions limit your compassion towards others.

....ugh, what a disaster.

"Bootist" Walking Meditation

Instructions:

Wearing your favorite cowboy boots, take a walk to nowhere in particular. Listen to the sounds your feet make in your boots...across wood floors, across dry gritty dirt. Do not rush.

Be mindful of your walking, not your path. Enjoy your steps. Let the sound of your cowboy boots call you into the present moment. Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow is not here yet.

"When we practice walking meditation, we arrive in each moment. Our true home is in the present moment When we enter the present moment deeply, our regrets and sorrows disappear, and we discover life with all its wonders. Breathing in, we sayto ourselves, "I have arrived." Breathing out, we say, "I am home." When we do this, we overcome dispersion and dwell peacefully in the present moment, which is the only moment for us to be alive.

As you begin to arrive with each step, you become more solid. As you become more solid, you become more free. Solidity and freedom are two aspects of Nirvana, the state of liberation from craving and clinging, fear, and anxiety. The practice should be pleasant. When you feel happy, your solidity and your freedom will grow, and you will know you are on the path of right practice. You don't need a teacher to tell you if you are enjoying the practice. Allow yourself to be." --Thich Nhat Hanh

I don't know, could lightning strike twice? Urban Cowboy - The Musical?

Only two things in life are certain....repair work on 1964 rancheros, and taxes. Today, I'm working on my taxes. I was going to work on my web page, but I have a cold, and I took too much cough syrup...and this morning I deleted my printer driver by mistake. I was trying to delete a print job, and I deleted my printer...a bad omen. I decided to leave my web page (and well-enough) alone.

So, I'm busy sorting little slips of paper into piles....receipts in one pile, used kleenex in the other.