No, the ultimate problem is not the fact that for the last week I have been the sickest I have been in recent (or even not so recent) memory. This may have been one of the worst colds/flus/whatever that I have ever in fact had. Finally I think the worst is over. Previous to this morning I had not seen anything except for the bed and the bathroom in 48 hours. This morning, awakening still sick, I nonetheless felt so much better that it was as if I had been hitting myself on the head with a hammer and then stopped. And y'all know how good that feels, right? :)
I had to get out. I showered, dressed, and bundled up. That by itself almost exhausted me. But stepping outside into the cold air and sunlight was worth it. My walk was short. But it was. Now I just looked out the window. It is now snowing. The weather report says this storm may give us six inches.
But on to what gives this post its title.
Today is Bodhi Day, the day on which the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, is said to have experienced awakening, or Bohdi, while sitting under a tree in the forest of northern India.
I'll use the occasion to share one of my favorite stories about the Buddha.
A farmer said to the Buddha, "I like to farm but there are lots of problems. Sometimes it rains too much and my crops get flooded out. Some times it rains too little, and they dry up...."
The Buddha listened attentively until the farmer finished and changed the subject. "I love my wife," he said, "but she's far from perfect. Sometimes she's cold to me for no reason at all. Sometimes she's so passionate that she wears me out...."
Again the Buddha listened patiently until the farmer once more changed the subject. "My children are wonderful," he said, "but they're always giving me trouble. Sometimes they fight with each other and break things. Sometimes they conspire against me...."
And so it went for quite awhile, the Buddha listening quietly and the man continuing to complain. Finally the farmer finished speaking and the Buddha said, "There's nothing I can do to help you, farmer. We've all got eighty-three problems and that's that. Maybe you can take care of one, but another one is bound to take its place. And some never change. For example, your farm, your wife, your children, even yourself--all will eventually pass away, and there's nothing you can do about it."
The farmer, outraged, said, "You're supposed to be a great teacher. What good is that teaching?"
The Buddha replied, "It may help you with the eighty-fourth problem."
What on earth is the eighty-fourth problem?" asked the farmer.
The Buddha answered, "That you want to not have any problems."
As told in Essential Buddhism by Jack Maguire
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Glad to hear you're up and staggering around. Isn't amazing to learn there are different degrees of feeling awful?
ReplyDeleteNext year, my friend, may I suggest a flu shot? Indeed, there are genuine reasons why to NOT get a flu shot—adverse reactions, etc. Plus the fact that you're only covered for a few strains, among many, of influenza; the shot producers might have guessed wrong and an uncovered strain turns out to be the most prevalent in your neck of the woods. Or, you simply caught an uncovered strain from some carrier who was actually the original unlucky recipient. It is a game of odds.
But here's what I've learned after being an odds-bucker all my life…that all of life is an odds game, and to become a grizzled, incorrigible scribe on the not-too-distant precipice of geezerhood, one must play the odds as if your life depends upon them. The odds of flu-shot complications are minuscule; the odds of croaking from the flu increase the older you get, as do the odds of lasting complications from just having the flu.
Buddha might express this as the wisdom of age overcoming the audacity of youth.
Anyway, we've missed you here in blogland.
More things to ponder! Being sick isn't such a bad thing (as long as it doesn't happen too often). It tends to allow us to better appreciate GOOD health.
ReplyDeleteGrizzled,
ReplyDelete"the not-too-distant precipice of geezerhood." Once again the way you turnn a phrase is a joy to read. :)
Thanks for missing me and I know you write wisdom here.
RT,
True. And always glad to make a body ponder. :)
Just today I'm coming down with a cold, so you have my completely understood sympathies. Probably the result of having participated Saturday in an all-day meeting in a very cold room in support of a non-profit.
ReplyDeleteWe give and we get. Who knows what the giving and getting will provide?
Barry,
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain and I'm pullin' for ya. Do whatever it takes to get well.