Johnathan Livingston Jack Move

Yo Rinpoche:
Some p**k m***********s representin' from Foolsville been talkin' trash on some b***h blog. Wussup with this s**t? Oh yeah... peace and love, like that!

                                                                                                            /s/
                                                                                        Ain't No Tellin' Which 'Hood

Yeah, I heard about that.

But, I believe it is important in circumstances such as these to retain one's perspective. There are all sorts of cowardly bullies on the Internet.  Even the BBC has now started their Bullyproof campaign, to counteract an epidemic of bullying.

I am lucky. This 'blog has a quarter million readers, but I only get  harassment from one small, little sputtering candle that is in the process of burning out. The move is known in media as "coat trailing," or in NASCAR as "drafting." This free range sociopath is trying to stir controversy to increase their own profile.  Usually, I ignore them, which frustrates their purpose. But, today I am feeling generous.

To answer your question, it doesn't bother me in the slightest. Who cares? You visit the jungles of poisonous plants, you'll meet with mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are deranged. They try to drink your blood, possibly give you an infection, and then they die. You hang on the beach of the ocean of Samsara, the gulls will try to grab the peanut butter sandwich right out of your hand.  The gulls are starving, and desperate. Sad, when you think about it. The candle sputters, the mosquitoes buzz, the gulls scavenge, but they are the very soul of impermanence.

If you had only a short while to go, wouldn't you try to fill your hours with something more meaningful? Go on a weight reduction program or something? Lay off the ganja? Patch things up with the ex? Worst comes to worse, you could actually practice Buddhism. Yes, I know this is America, where talking about practice is somehow seen as the same as practice, but it doesn't really work that way.

There is that, you know? But, my skills are poor and I lack the eloquence to say this properly. It is so much more sensitively expressed by the hauntingly beautiful lyrics of this modern folk poetry -- this gentle celebration of life lived  with vigor -- sent with all my love, you may rest assured:

To All the Gulls I Knew Before