I saw your question “How are you doing today?” and waited until something positive came up. After an hour of watching videos about Elvis Presley’s original drummer and guitarist, I checked my email and saw this quote featured on a message from ZCLA:
“Stop looking to fix your situation, and find your freedom right here in this overflowing sea of hardship. Stop fighting difficulty and sink into acceptance.” – Roshi Grace Schireson
That’s a message I’m getting from numerous sources. It’s the other side of my heroic brave face. Sometimes it gets exhausting to pretend I’m not primarily learning from the opportunities to suffer.
The other side of slipping the traps of culture is the sadness of being isolated from the sangha I lived in for 28 years. It doesn’t have to be this way. I’m reading the Sangha Sutra and feeling inspired by the idea of being woven back into the fabric of the sangha. Two old friends are visiting in the next two days. The Sangha Sutra Verse says
Stitch by stitch, breath by breath,/I take up the practice of sewing the Sangha Sutra. /When seams rip apart and tears appear,/I take up the practice of mending.
That’s what I want to do this week.