Long time, no see

This blogging vacation marks the longest in my Joy tenure. And, just like the pure happiness I felt upon arriving back home and unlocking the doors to my apartment, it's nice to be back home in bloglandia. It's nice to sit here and pretend no one is watching, but being pleasantly surprised when they are. 

In my absence, Chris and I traveled to Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala. We missed a few snow storms and caught one on our way back in. The brief respite made me glad for the snow again, although not for driving/biking in it. I know it's not the case for everyone, but put me in the boat of: "the best part of vacation is coming back home. "

While away, I caught up on my New Yorker magazines, and read an article about the Dalai Lama. Here's something I didn't know, and would definitely have lost a bet on: the DL is a carnivore! As described in the article, the DL eats meat for health reasons. When he tried to be a vegetarian, he suffered. As we all know, the DL and suffering... well, they are even more contradictory than the DL and meat. Also, when he was a young DL, he used to get nervous before long events he was required at because he was worried he would have to use the bathroom. Hey! That's just like me on long Guatemalan bus rides!

A message I know, but forget like it's my job, it's to put no one on a pedestal. Even the DL. So it's nice to come along articles like this every once and awhile which remind me that even the DL gets scared that he's going to pee his pants. And about the meat... I'm a veggie and going to stay one. The message for me there is to stay clear of definitive and dogma. Your path will change even while you think you're walking on it. Our bodies are between 50-60% water (according to Wikipedia) and I ought to start acting more like it. Accept the constant shifts and movements, fluid like the water that we are, and (as all good yogis know) go with the flow. 

Thanks, DL.