This morning I was a tiny bit late for work because last night I forgot to refill the hummingbird feeder, and this morning I heard a hummingbird buzzing outside our window, so I quickly made some nectar. Only my easygoing coworker was on campus today, and he didn't care. When I went for my morning walk, I saw that the little tree that seemed to be dying the day I had the mystical experience last month has come back to life, so either the drought is over or the landscapers are finally watering it. I was very happy to see that.
Today we had a meeting of the leaders of the salaried and hourly shared governance, to talk about ageism at the university. We all agreed it was a problem, and that we need hard data to show it's a problem (for example, they didn't ask people's age ranges in a recent climate survey), but we aren't sure how to get the data we need to prove our point, or how we should approach administration once we have the data we need. We did agree this needs to be pursued further. One guy said an administrator actually said they don't bother giving raises to longtime workers because they're less likely to leave. Ouch!
Today was supposed to be horribly hot, and I had to walk to Adoration, but it really wasn't that bad. I planned to stop at Paul's Bookstore to get The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, since after reading about it I realized it was a summary of The Tibetan Book of the Dead for Western people unfamiliar with Buddhism. I was going to go to the Globe for dinner, but instead I went to Fair Trade for a chicken pesto sandwich and began reading the book, not from the start, but from a chapter that intrigued me. It said straight out what I had inferred from the original, ancient book - that these spiritual exercises can be done with a Christ-centric instead of Buddha-centric outlook. After Adoration I went to the Globe and had some kind of dessert that was small but expensive, but it was so exquisite that it was worth every penny. It was some sort of soft cheese flavored with pistachio, rose, and maybe saffron, in sweet milk. I savored it while sitting outside and continuing to read this book. It really brought me a lot of comfort, because I was wondering what I could do for our nephew during his bardo, and it said the best thing is to pray for him, which of course I'm already doing. When Travalon came to pick me up, I told him about the book, and how the spiritual exercises it suggested for the dead, like picturing them being surrounded by love, I had already instinctively done. I have no idea if our nephew is in Heaven or Purgatory, or if he's preparing for another incarnation, but I like to think we've done our part to aid his transition.
Famous Hat
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