Birds, People...

I left the front door to our cottage open for about thirty seconds this morning, as I stepped out to pick up the newspapers from the steps, and came back to find that two birds had flown into the house. I think it's the pair of finches that are nesting on the front balcony. Anyway, there they were, fluttering around in total panic with George the dog going crazy with excitement. If I'd had my wits about me, I might have snapped off a couple of shots with my new camera--with one of them perched, momentarily, for example, on a vase atop the living room bookcase--but I was too focused on helping them find a way out to freedom and forgot about the camera. I got the two double doors to the balcony opened up and came at them from behind, through the doorway from the kitchen. One of them found its way through the doors; the other I had to trap between my hands and carry outside. She was certainly happy to be free once more, darting out of my hands and off into the distance. I'm just hoping the experience won't distract them from their family responsibilities.

I trust you'll forgive my silence for the past couple of days. As I mentioned in my last entry, Thursday and Friday were the two days each semester when I'm invited as a guest to a class at Cal State Fullerton taught by my friend, Dr. Stuart Bloom. Called "Character and Conflict," it's the kind of class I wish I could have taken as a young man, introducing students to the role of the emotions in their lives. Had I been more aware of mine for many years--really, until a breakthrough weekend in my fifties--I could have perhaps avoided many of those unconscious, reactive patterns that tend to govern our lives when we're not aware of how they operate. I wrote a book about that weekend and the subsequent changes in my life, and it's that book that Stuart's students are asked to read in preparation for my visit. It's always a great privilege and joy to be in touch with my fellow human beings in this intimate and challenging way, and I value the opportunity. I hope that a few of those students find their way, as invited, to The Buddha Diaries, and stay in touch that way...