Sunday 9/20/09
Just back from the first Sunday since moving back into the building. It's that important unstructured time in the schedule, the supreme practice of choosing how I will spend my time. What activity is beneficial? I can answer this on all sorts of levels - the need for exercise, the need to check in with the majority of humanity living in a perception of anonymity, the need to just get out and mix it up. I just had tea and toast and a few sweet impromptu encounters in the small kitchen with various sangha members in their various states of mind, took a shower and am now settling in to my little room on the third floor on this Sunday evening. I got up at at 7:30 this morning with the sun shining in - respectable hour, I think, given the way I've been living for the past year and a half. Had the traditional Sunday bagel and orange juice, the miscellaneous conversations with people streaming in and out of the student lounge, sat wordlessly with Blanche and Lou while they ate their breakfest, me reading the paper and checking e-mail. Left the building at 11:30 to walk to the Marina to meet Sara. We strolled about Marina Green, took in the fantastic sight of the kite festival, ate some good yucatan food. Caught the bus to the Sunset and met up with Kaz. We drank mai tais and margaritas together, and ate sushi and calimari and just talked and talked about Sit & Eat, his upcoming marriage, the future of Zen in America (it's time for us to forget about Suzuki-roshi, he feels) and how to make money and become "financially independent." All in all a textured and engaging day, which makes me well prepared for the 5 am wake up bell. Going downstairs now to check e-mail, then it's off to bed for me, well before 9:00. This is perfectly reasonable to me.
Just back from the first Sunday since moving back into the building. It's that important unstructured time in the schedule, the supreme practice of choosing how I will spend my time. What activity is beneficial? I can answer this on all sorts of levels - the need for exercise, the need to check in with the majority of humanity living in a perception of anonymity, the need to just get out and mix it up. I just had tea and toast and a few sweet impromptu encounters in the small kitchen with various sangha members in their various states of mind, took a shower and am now settling in to my little room on the third floor on this Sunday evening. I got up at at 7:30 this morning with the sun shining in - respectable hour, I think, given the way I've been living for the past year and a half. Had the traditional Sunday bagel and orange juice, the miscellaneous conversations with people streaming in and out of the student lounge, sat wordlessly with Blanche and Lou while they ate their breakfest, me reading the paper and checking e-mail. Left the building at 11:30 to walk to the Marina to meet Sara. We strolled about Marina Green, took in the fantastic sight of the kite festival, ate some good yucatan food. Caught the bus to the Sunset and met up with Kaz. We drank mai tais and margaritas together, and ate sushi and calimari and just talked and talked about Sit & Eat, his upcoming marriage, the future of Zen in America (it's time for us to forget about Suzuki-roshi, he feels) and how to make money and become "financially independent." All in all a textured and engaging day, which makes me well prepared for the 5 am wake up bell. Going downstairs now to check e-mail, then it's off to bed for me, well before 9:00. This is perfectly reasonable to me.
