merry christmas

When I arrived at my sister's house to visit for Christmas, my four-year-old nephew was crying in his room, angrily throwing his toys. As I walked in he had just picked up a new one to throw. I picked him up, and held him close. He put his little head on my shoulder. I could feel his little heart, lungs and breath working overtime, sputtering and hiccuping... all dis-jointed. He was fifty pounds of trembling, fear, and anger. It reminded me of what my own anger feels like when I observe it. It's like a space opens behind my nose, and my breaths no longer seem to fill my lungs, every breath seems inadequate. I suppose this makes sense, considering fight-or-flight response theories.

Mikey seemed calmer. "Are you ready to go play now?", I asked. "Yeah" he said. I put him down, and he ran off to find his brother and play again.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR ON-LINE SANGHA!!

monk sculpture

This is a Chinese wood sculpture from the Seattle Asian Art Museum entitled "Monk at the Moment of Enlightenment". I visited the museum a couple weeks ago, and even though it wasn't the first time I'd seen it, this sculpture really left a strong impression on me. The look on his face, the movement of the body and robes... I really like it.