Celebrating Life

“I have lived.

Let us see if that is all.” eecummings

Birthday party with drugs and ice cream…

different than when I was a kid,

except for the ice cream.

Not celebrating that I’m still alive, rather,

that I have lived, more than waiting for

something to happen

following the beaten path

not undone by circumstance

I took a chance

desperate for the truth.

Seventy one, I thought I’d be dead by now.

A lot of us hippies had that thought…a lot

died in that roiling of culture, jumping out

of windows on LSD, pioneers of spirit, naive,

fearless…stupid maybe, but knowing 

something had to be done to wake humanity

from materialistic slumber; live free or die was

the choice we saw and acted.

“Like a fighter the soul must be constantly in

training lest it grow soft on an ephemeral

throne”    William Burroughs

Trungpa and Beethoven died when they were

forty seven…Rimbaud stopped writing when

he was twenty. It doesn’t matter how long you

live. “Even Jesus wanted a little more time.”

The quick and the dead…”You don’t have to 

be quick to live here, but, it’s over.”

What can I say about life? It’s got a beat, you 

can dance to it…there’s no alternative…be

there or be square…ice cream….a red 

wheelbarrow…never arranged but always

complete…a moveable feast…the party’s just

getting started.

We love to communicate, don’t we? Look at

all the languages…look at Billy Budd. My 

presence is my present to me and the world…

why not? If no one reads me, did that tree 

really fall? That’s why nothing ever happens 

until everything happens at once. Got me?

There’s an old Buddhist joke: the Italian 

Godfather makes you an offer you can’t 

refuse…the Polish Godfather makes you 

an offer you can’t understand…the Tibetan

Godfather makes you an offer you can’t 

refuse or understand. This joke came about 

because Chogyam Trungpa was that very

Tibetan Godfather…hence, the joke. The 

reason this is so, is because Trungpa’s 

teachings went against our egos, rubbed 

them the wrong way. It was painfully true,

so it was hard to listen to and harder to 

hear. It was an acquired taste. Are we clear 

on this?

Which was why Trungpa was hard to take 

for a lot of people. He told the truth whether

anyone liked it or not….constantly, without

a vacation. You weren’t kidding yourself

around him, and you knew it…it was 

excruciatingly delicious, steak tartar. Dare I

say it? Spiritual vivisection….but…good!

Psychic surgery without anesthetic…

ruthless compassion. He was able to do this

because of his training that had completely

destroyed any trace of self aggrandizement

in him. His presence was uncontrived and

completely spontaneous…very intimidating

to robots.

Our beings don’t end with our skin. Our 

beings pervade space to a greater or lesser 

degree. This is easily demonstrated by our 

experience of some people walking into a 

room and lighting it up with charisma. 

Imagine if our minds were trained to be 

open!

Shifting gears…writing unfolds (unpacks?)

like claymation…I love that I love to write…

I’m constantly surprised what comes out of

the old cabeza…I make myself laugh…I

want to make others laugh as well…even

philosophy makes you laugh when you 

“get it”. Shakespeare’s Fool is the model for

all sage comedians. The gurus were known 

to be hilarious….but they didn’t tell jokes.

I never thought my life would be this great…

that could be the drugs talking, but, still…

this is my birthday suite…enjoying my

temporary pleasure…don’t mind if I do…

blah blah blah…there’s room for that too…

boredom…has anyone ever written a boring 

novel that was a best seller? There’s no 

Olympic sport that gives a gold medal for 

standing quietly… American Indians or Zen 

masters might be impressed…it’s all 

happening at the zoo….there’s no 

accounting for taste….mind if I cliche?

Burning Man or Gulag…those are the two

choices I see…Eden was always the goal…

get back Jojo…back to the garden…archaic 

revival…that or the Morlocks take us 

downstairs…live free or die…the character 

of the conflict has never changed, although

many have transcended it altogether…the

tools are still available waiting to be used.

No need to end this rant because no 

beginning…just a fun tip toe through the 

Manichean wabi-sabi.