Alrighty then.

Blogger ate part of my template. I'm practicing patience. In truth, I'm waiting to redesign emdot -- it's had this look for well over a year and a half now. Time to shake things up. That includes what I want to write here as well.

I don't know if its the influx of new blogs, the supersaturation of the blogoverse, but I'd like to change this a little into something more deliberate. I don't know if it's the onslaught of flickr which has become my defacto blog (and with so much feedback, it is very fun for me as well). I don't know if it's simply time passing and nearing my fifth year anniversary of blogging, or if it's just time in general.

The past couple of weeks have been meaty. Pithy. Thick and juicy. Sometimes hard to get through, but worth it all the while.

My friend Mitch gave me a great book a couple of weeks ago: Nothing Special: Living Zen by Charlotte Joko Beck. It is filled with great reminders and gentle eye openers. Joko Beck has a way to dive straight into the heart with a snap of her fingers, reminding me of what is really important.

Even if you were to look at Buddhism from a strictly tool-based viewpoint, I think there is so much to get out of it. I think that if you were religion shy or even religion repulsed, you could get so much out of books like this or Pema's. But Joko Beck seems to really just cut to what's important: remembering that your thoughts are just thoughts: they are not reality. And to remind you that you are not a separate person. We are all connected and this doesn't have to be a strategized life. Just be present and courageous. Just be available and open.

Those are the things I need to remember, anyway.

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Tidbits

• Reality TV Strikes Again. I've been watching the Contender. Pretty good.


• Reality TV Rambles by Lazily. I'm still watching the Apprentice and kind of enjoying the fact that America is getting tired and ho-hummed about the corporate types. It kind of hurts to watch it in action after you just spent a day at the office. :)


• I really don't watch that much TV. You probably don't believe me, but it's the truth.


• I'm driving home today. ;) And it's not raining. Imagine that! (i'm sure it will start to rain the moment I get into my car).