calm.

grateful.

happy thanksgiving!

like a writer.

Selecting A Reader

First, I would have her be beautiful,
and walking carefully up on my poetry
at the loneliest moment of an afternoon,
her hair still damp at the neck
from washing it. She should be wearing
a raincoat, an old one, dirty
from not having money enough for the cleaners.
She will take out her glasses, and there
in the bookstore, she will thumb
over my poems, then put the book back
up on its shelf. She will say to herself,
"For that kind of money, I can get
my raincoat cleaned." And she will.

Ted Kooser

one, two, three.

last night I attended a dharma study about returning to the elementary, the simple, and the neccesary - as opposed to the preferential.

how do you all "get back to the basics"?

just something to think about, as we move into this holiday : )

take up a blade of grass and use it as a golden Buddha 16 feet high.

the practice of Zen as a non-intellectual way of life.

Buddhist teaching & meditation practice is seeping into my everyday & my now. This only happened when I stopped reading and started acting… specifically, when I began daily meditation.

Things about Zen Buddhism (as opposed to other branches) I try and hold close:

Everything there is implies everything else. And all those other things… in turn imply each individual object…. (rough sketch: mutual interdependence).

And your life, however short, everything depends on it. If that did not happen, nothing would happen. In this sense, the whole world bears your signature. It would not be the same world… if it weren’t for you (Allan Watts).

A world where there is a you implies there is a me. And a world with a me means a world with a you. You cannot separate me from you or you from me, just as you can’t separate my hands from my feet (me, my understanding).

Zen mentality represented simply:

Student: mountains and hills… are they not all forms of the body of Buddha?

Zen master: yes they are. But it’s a pity to say so.

... which shuts this bird up. Happy Friday to you all!

written for omy!!! oobiedoobieboo.

belated wednesday & thursday,

two sick days : (

caught the california flu which always ALWAYS seems to be circulating this state.

although I am still grateful to live where I do, and not only because I walk around in a postcard, but because my neighbor is a beautiful lady who likes to babysit (dogsit) my baby (dog) while I run errands : )

tick tock tick tock tick...

tock. working overtime. feeling? all of the above.

both images from jennifer daniel's witty, ironic portfolio.

today I would rather...

... be at home reading about Paul Rand & Alvin Lustig.

weekend

weekend
Originally uploaded by robinannmcintosh

today I feel supported.

have a wonderful, relaxing weekend!

indignant.

Herb Lubalin.

How was Herb Lubalin so consistently awesome?!

Today I feel indignant. Like I want to sucker punch all persons in positions of authority.

guilt: the gift that keeps on giving.

While I work my eight to ten hour days, poor Sampson sits in his "house" - aka his bag, alone.

Is it true that dogs don't possess a sense of time passed?

Mum constantly comforts me with this absolving pearl. Personally, I think it smacks of suburban myth.

Any dog lovers, dog knowers, dog experts out there willing to set the record straight?

examination.

hi hi hi : )

Over the past few months I have realized a “back to the basics” strategy is necessary if Little Bird is to survive. I am therefore returning to my blogging roots.... once again I will commit to month long projects – re the days of “ones I love” & “kind acts.”

Organization & structure. Only within predefined limits & constraints does my creativity flourish.

Every day for the rest of November I will post an image - be it mine, an artist’s, another blogger’s… graphic design, photography, painting, whatever. The image will reflect the day I’ve had….

Prepare yourselves for skulls, skeletons, and time clocks.

It’s so very good to be back : ) Off to read what ya’ll have been up to…