Month: January 2015
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Life with our little Zen masters—Bandit and Desmond
I have lived with several Zen masters—all of them cats. —Eckhart Tolle In 1999, a few months after Shonnie and I were married, I got a mid-day call from her at her office at the Mission Hospital marketing department in Asheville, North Carolina. I was putting the finishing touches on a client’s marketing plan at…
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Me and Bandit in the snow
The snowflakes, driven by the blustery north wind, blow into my face and nonchalantly dust the grass and the pines. Once again, Bandit, my trusty feline companion, is my teacher. He stands near me, tail curled around my leg, effortlessly present in the moment, while I struggle to let go of thoughts about the stuff…
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Breathing new life into my purpose
“What is your purpose in life?” the guardian of the gate at the men’s retreat demanded. “To work toward a more compassionate, just and sustainable world,” I immediately replied. “You may enter!” I guess I’ve known why I’m on this planet for 15 years or so, And at first I organized workshops that encouraged folks…
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My morning wakeup
Just as I sit down at my computer this morning To tackle my ever-expanding list of things to do My cat Attabi silently slips into my office with an entirely different agenda As he hops on my desk and lies in front of my keyboard Attabi balks as I try to shoo him away…