Tales from the Orchid Garden

May I be at peace
May my heart remain open
May I awaken to the light of my own true nature
May I be healed
May I be a source of healing for all beings.

May you be at peace
May your heart remain open
May you awaken to the light of your own true nature
May you be healed
May you be a source of healing for all beings.


May there be peace of earth
May the hearts of all people be open to themselves and to
each other
May all people awaken to the light of their own true nature
May all creation be blessed and be a blessing for All That Is.


Buddhist meditation on Loving Kindness.

Actually this is funny for the little visuals about the other countries as much as for the song itself.

Best comment I've heard/read so far on Representative Joe Wilson:

He thought he was anonymous but shortly after he blurted his ignorant statement he realized he didn't have his sheet on.

Lots of emotion flying around out there right now, but this article states some things rather calmly:


It compares the American economy to China's, and talks about what holds us back. After seeing all of the examples in the last two months of the ignorance and paranoia we seem to have to wade through to get there, I don't have a lot of hope. Here are the last two paragraphs of the article:

The G.O.P. used to be the party of business. Well, to compete and win in a globalized world, no one needs the burden of health insurance shifted from business to government more than American business. No one needs immigration reform — so the world’s best brainpower can come here without restrictions — more than American business. No one needs a push for clean-tech — the world’s next great global manufacturing industry — more than American business. Yet the G.O.P. today resists national health care, immigration reform and wants to just drill, baby, drill.

“Globalization has neutered the Republican Party, leaving it to represent not the have-nots of the recession but the have-nots of globalized America, the people who have been left behind either in reality or in their fears,” said Edward Goldberg, a global trade consultant who teaches at Baruch College. “The need to compete in a globalized world has forced the meritocracy, the multinational corporate manager, the eastern financier and the technology entrepreneur to reconsider what the Republican Party has to offer. In principle, they have left the party, leaving behind not a pragmatic coalition but a group of ideological naysayers.”

“Mom, are these really seeds that would grow into a big plant?”

Will shoved a dandelion into my face, between my nose and the magazine article I was reading.

“Yes, they absolutely will.”

“But,” I continued, “those seeds are for making wishes. You close your eyes, make a wish and blow as hard as you can, as if you were blowing out birthday candles. And the seeds will scatter your wishes out into the world.”

“Really?” he was incredulous.

“Oh yes,” I assured them.

“Are wishes real?” he asked. That’s the latest thing with Will - are things really really real. Are ghosts real? Are volcanoes real? Are vampires real? Are tornadoes real? the list goes on and on.

“Wishes are totally real,” I said.

“Do they come true?”

“Not always,” I said.

He closed his eyes and made a wish. I so wanted to know, but didn’t ask.

Then he looked across the backyard.

“There are millions of these!” he exclaimed. Yes. My backyard is not a neat green lawn - it’s a mess of clover and moss and dandelions and weeds. But I’m not real fan of neat, green lawns anyway. In fact I’m gradually tearing out the front lawn and replacing it with . . . all kinds of things that aren’t grass.

Will went from one dandelion to another. Making wishes.

I overheard - “I wish my mom and dad,” he began and my heart swelled. I couldn’t wait. Would never die? Would live with me forever? Would let me buy them a beach house in Hawaii one day?

“would let me play Wii tonight,” he said. The other wishes were similar - various Wii games and other toys.

I laughed to myself. But then quickly chastised myself for feeling a little superior and patronizing. I suppose if someone overheard my wishes they wouldn’t sound exactly noble and grand either. They may not be for Wii and toys . . ., and I might like to puff my self up with pride for moment and say with some condescension that they are “ideas” not “things,” but if I’m to be totally honest with myself, I have to admit that my wishes actually are not at a much higher level than wishing for Wii games.

We're spending the weekend on household projects - cleaning out the garage, getting rid of things that should have gone long ago. After more than five years in this house, if we haven't used that piece of furniture yet, it probably should go, right?

Today I'm moving to the garden: summer cleanup and fall planning.

I desperately want to do a version of this in one corner, but I'm having trouble gaining support from the legal department.