Flashing Buddha

Dear friend,

The stone Buddha in our garden is flashing. To be precise, the solar-powered light we have illuminating him is deciding whether to come on or not. It flashes five times and settles into the on position. The night feels very still. Even the High Street seems subdued.

Zara is half-dozing on the daybed, waiting for Katie to come. She’s got that melancholy look dogs specialise in. I know she loves being here, but the bond between a shepherd and their main human is strong. I can be of some consolation — especially in my role as dispenser of tasty dog chews.

It’s amazing how fast a sniff of a treat can change your mood.

A lone dog barks someplace, and I hear a woman sneezing.

Strange, really, to live so close to people without knowing them. Unnatural, I guess. For the majority of our time on earth, evolutionarily speaking, we’d have known the people around us.

Makes me think of a lyric from Lou Reed’s The Glory of Love on Coney Island Baby:

“Ah, but remember that the city is a funny place
Something like a circus or a sewer.”

But the glory of love might see you through.

And it will, too.

How simple is it to love, over and over — to love again even when the winds of division are blowing so hard and the rain of injustice stings your face?

Simple, maybe.
But not easy.

The easy path seems to be to blame, dehumanise, and point the finger of accusation.

But that’s all circus and sewer, and can never lead to peace.

So we’re left with the perennial choice — to steady the mind and find the courage to stand for what is right. Even if the world is stubbornly unjust, integrity matters, especially in the small things. The details of the day. The decision to give the other the benefit of the doubt.

And when we can’t do that?

We can withdraw into stillness.

Cultivating inner peace is a real contribution to peace in the world.

There are millions and millions of us,
quietly seeding the future.

Till tomorrow
Love
Mikey