A sangha member was talking about her new iPhone yesterday, saying how thrilled she was with it, how much better it was than her Blackberry had been, etc. Others chimed in, comparing features with the iPad, other tablet devices, etc. I offered that I couldn't imagine typing on a flat surface, and left it at that.
I find that I have less and less to say about more and more as the days pass. I might fear I was depressed, but I actually get a good amount of stuff done in a given day, and I have no trouble getting myself out of bed. Just the other week I said to a colleague at work that I couldn't be more satisfied with my life, seeing as how I want for nothing, and I meant it. It's not depression.
I think it's more a matter of coming to not have a horse in any race.
I'd be tempted to worry about it, but I find that when I do have a horse in a race, it doesn't turn out all that well. All at once, success and failure, better and worse, "me" and "not-me" all come into play. It's hard to keep the precepts – let alone a modicum of equanimity – when I'm interested in seeing one side win and the side lose. How many of my relationships get clouded over by preferences for this party or that candidate, this brand of laptop or that restaurant, this policy vs that one, etc.?
From the beginning, bhikkhus were prohibited from attending cockfights, wrestling matches, and the like. I doubt that it was a matter of avoiding violence as much as a matter of not getting worked up about one's contestant of choice.
There's a lesson for everyone in that.
I find that I have less and less to say about more and more as the days pass. I might fear I was depressed, but I actually get a good amount of stuff done in a given day, and I have no trouble getting myself out of bed. Just the other week I said to a colleague at work that I couldn't be more satisfied with my life, seeing as how I want for nothing, and I meant it. It's not depression.
I think it's more a matter of coming to not have a horse in any race.
I'd be tempted to worry about it, but I find that when I do have a horse in a race, it doesn't turn out all that well. All at once, success and failure, better and worse, "me" and "not-me" all come into play. It's hard to keep the precepts – let alone a modicum of equanimity – when I'm interested in seeing one side win and the side lose. How many of my relationships get clouded over by preferences for this party or that candidate, this brand of laptop or that restaurant, this policy vs that one, etc.?
From the beginning, bhikkhus were prohibited from attending cockfights, wrestling matches, and the like. I doubt that it was a matter of avoiding violence as much as a matter of not getting worked up about one's contestant of choice.
There's a lesson for everyone in that.
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