Tri-Titled Blog

To enjoy the world without judgment is what a realized life is like. - Charlotte Joko Beck in the Zen Calendar (September 26, 2009) Note: Quote is subject to change -- I just can't find the one I am looking for.

Day 55. My dad used to say (a lot), "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." But I'm going to blog today anyway.

I'm not fond of the days I end up writing a whole lot about not having anything to write about. Instead, I'll explain the title to today's blog. About halfway through today, the title was going to be "Crashing Back to Earth." I was going to write gloomily about the post-adrenaline blues that accompanied getting off the bike and going to work. That blog was definitely going to have an Eeyore-esque tone. Since I was in no hurry to write it, I decided to take a walk in the beautiful Spring evening. One of the things I do while walking is look for change (i.e. coins - not a surprising turn of events). I wasn't three houses from my own when I spotted a penny. And another. And another. Not even off my block yet, and I've made three cents (my record for one walk is 14 cents). I briefly considered categorizing this as a Peak Experience. Especially since these penny finds appear to be comprising my retirement savings. I walked on, deciding to call tonight's blog "My Three Cents Worth." I began to free associate to a blog about the ramifications of walking with my head down rather than walking while looking forward.

These thoughts carried me about four more blocks. I was blogging along in my head (so much for being fully present in the moment), recalling the walk where I found a dime and four pennies when lo! and Behold! I look down and see a quarter. A whole, shiny, no-doubt recently-dropped quarter. I stooped to pick it up, aware that I was feeling much less like Eeyore, whom I'm certain never found a quarter in his life because Pooh would have talked about it. I mentally switched my blog title to "Unexpected Quarters." Naturally, this would be an upbeat blog about Peak Experiences, unanticipated pleasures, serendipitous discoveries, blah, blah, blah.

I walked for another mile or so, and as the sun set I concluded that 28 cents was probably going to be my new record for coin collecting. I observed that in less than three miles I had formulated three different titles for today's blog. I sort of liked all the titles, but realized that, still, no stupendous blogging material was rising to consciousness. I considered returning to my original plan, which was essentially to gripe and moan about Mondays, work, and my ongoing failure to find someone to pay me a living to ride bikes. Then that small section of my brain that still has a few memory cells remaining quietly asked, "What does that have to do with Zen?"

It was at that point that my dilemma was solved. I would call the blog "Tri-Titled Blog" and simply illuminate the title-selection process. This conclusion felt like it had everything to do with Zen. Zen is about being in touch with Reality. Zen is about experiencing and representing things truthfully. Zen is about the absence of need to gussy things up, to exaggerate, to pontificate. Zen is about what IS. Sometimes this is so simple that it alludes me. I often struggle with understanding what is enough. Holy crap! Peak experience right this second! What is - IS enough! That just came to me as I read the words "what is enough." Just think, ten minutes ago I had nothing substantive to write about!

Damn. I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself, so I'm going to have to stop writing to garner my might to squelch my burgeoning ego. I was about finished anyway. Another thing my dad used to say (a lot) was, "Know when to say when."

Gassho (and "When"),
CycleBuddhaDoc