A Really Tight Pony Tail

May happiness and peace be with you. - The charm included with the gift I received today.

Day 86. Peak Experience! I received an anonymous gift today! My very first one! The mail arrived at my office and I found an envelope addressed to me in a lovely computer font. No return address. I opened the envelope and to my delight . . . it didn't blow up! Just kidding. I opened the envelope and to my delight discovered a wonderful book titled "Being in Balance" by Dr. Wayne Dyer, and a tiny, perfect, silver charm in a cloth pouch the color of new buttercups. It says, "May happiness and peace be with you." I know I quoted it above; I just wanted to write and read it one more time. It is a very powerful charm, for I have been feeling happy and peaceful ever since I opened it.

It couldn't have arrived at a better time for all of us. Otherwise, it is highly likely that another blog saturated with sarcastic, pessimistic cynicism was going to eek from my fingertips. How very unBuddhalike. Instead, I felt buoyant and energetic throughout the day. Anonymous kindness is the ultimate ego chuck. I am so grateful. This book looks like it's going to rock.

It was too windy to ride bikes, so I decided to ride that buoyancy and take the dogs to the lake. What a sight! The water was boisterous and unruly. Muddy brown waves smashed the shore so ferociously the dogs paused at the water's edge, looking wary and confused. I love it when the Oklahoma winds whip an inland lake into wild, frothy white caps. I love it when me and the dogs have the whole shoreline to ourselves.

The wind had swirled the sand into fantastic artwork. I have never seen anything like it. I rounded the point and stumbled upon geometric, symmetrical patterns of ridges, points and ripples. Further down the beach, the symmetry yielded to mysterious and erotic cracks, creases and crevices. It was like walking across a giant M. C. Escher print. The contrasting hues of mauve, brick and pink were breathtaking. The roaring of the wind and water thundered in my ears, filling my head with sound that crowded out all thought. The dogs went a little crazy - ripping across the rippled sand, biting at the waves, lumbering through thick, squishy patches of mud. It was glorious.

I picked up a few pointers for beach combing in howling winds. Walk in the dampness near the water so blowing sand doesn't sting your legs. Keep your mouth shut if you are chewing gum - otherwise you'll be munching grit and swallowing sand. Contacts are best left at home, though squinting behind sun glasses works in a pinch. Pull your hair back in a really tight pony tail. Seriously. I felt profoundly attached to the scrunchy holding mine today. Flicking hair in 40 mph winds can do some damage.

I'm sure it is obvious after 85 (and a half!) blogs that I am not wired for wanton jaunts upon windswept canvases. My mind is designed for obsession, precision, and moderate degrees of fretfulness. I thrive on order and symmetry and logic. Numbers soothe me, as does describing things with three adjectives. Emotion untethered to reason leaves me squirmy. That is, if the emotions are mine. I'm in my element with the emotions of others because most of the time my brain gets to scurry around frantically anchoring the feelings to perfectly sound understanding. I'm a damn good shrink.

This wiring is the reason it will probably take me upwards of 400 lifetimes to experience enlightenment. Nothingness is not my forte. Emptying my mind feels tantamount to bagging up the Sahara using a thimble. It's going to take time. And practice. Lots of practice. Practice on my cushion; practice on the sand. I'm feeling hopeful, because I sense these infinitesimal shifts in my neurons. A subtle loosening. I'm going to keep going back to the lake, keep scanning the sand, pry open my wild mind so the wind can whip it into lather. So that one day the only thing tight about me will be my pony tail.

I must get on my cushion. Afterward, I have a really good book to read.

Gassho,
CycleBuddhaDoc