freedom and fear

So on the bike ride in this morning I found myself still thinking about something that was said yesterday in this Christian-Buddhist Dialogue class I'm auditing down at the Div.

"Freedom is not being afraid of any thing that passes through your mind."

The idea is something like this: as we cling to stuff "out there" - as we grasp for a world that is anything other than just what it is - we experience suffering (often manifesting as fear).

The point, you ask? It is this (I think): the clinging and the grasping are what create the fear and result in the suffering. It is not the thing "out there" that keeps any of us from freedom and love. It is, rather, the stickiness of our own mind that constricts our view and prevents our breath-by-breath experience of compassion, wisdom, and interconnectedness. Thus, liberation and lightness are possible to the extent we can take charge of our minds and empty ourselves of expectations, desires, and conditions for how we wish the world to be and, instead, embrace this moment just as it is, pregnant with possibility, potentiality, and power.

A thought for my bike ride home: "the world is as the mind is."

powerful

not even a handshake with "that one"? classy

mission accomplished

So I biked back over to Belmont around noon and guess who I bumped into . . .



Me and Chucky T. And yes, Shelli, Chuck Todd does talk Thai. Actually, he says to me, "Suit pants on the bike. Nice."



Me and the Congressman . . .



Mrs. Greenspan about to go live in the Hardball chair . . .



Jews for Obama et al.

i love this country

(click to make large)

On the bike ride in this morning we have some good news and some bad news. First for the bad: 1. We did not see Chuck Todd. 2. We were caught in a torrential downpour, and I was drenched. Completely and utterly soaked to the bone. The kids, as you can see above, rode in their usual carefree style. (Although I think it does get a little stuffy in there.) But for the good news: We saw a Johnston & Murphy "Shoes of the Presidents" exhibit under a tent. Wow. What an exhibit. What a piece of Americana history. The shoes of the Presidents. I love this country.

And what's more, Ivy had the nerve to ask the exhibit guy "who are you voting for?" Seriously. She asked. To which he replied: "same guy as your dad." (The bike has a bumper sticker, of course.)

I love this country.

53 years in the making

It was 1955, in the Gator Bowl, the last time that a final score had Vanderbilt ahead of Auburn. Last night was one for the ages, as Vanderbilt improved on its story-book season to a record of 5 wins, 0 losses. The last time Vandy was 5-0 was 1943 . . . Tommy Dorsey was on the radio, FDR was in the White House, and the world was at war.

And what about the creativity of those Vandy kids. No, I'm not talking about the magic of back-up quarterback Mackenzi Adams who came off the bench to keep the dream alive. I'm referring to clever signage. I couldn't see it from where I was sitting, but when I got home and saw the highlights on ESPN, one student was holding a sign that said, "The Geeks Shall Inherit the Turf." I like that one.

But even better was a sign seen during the raucus pre-game festivities broadcast on ESPN's culturally iconic Saturday morning football show - GameDay. This sign read, "You guys are blocking the way to the library." That one is classic.

Although, more accurately, on Friday afternoon the GameDay set was actually blocking the route I take to cut across campus. But no matter. It was an epic weekend for Vandyball. Can anyone say "SEC Championship"?

a Palo Alto day

I lived in Palo Alto one summer, and I swear, every single day was just like today. Crisp morning. Brilliant blue sky. Bright sun. No humidity. Slight breeze. Mid-70s. Seriously, this was every single day in Palo Alto. Here in Nashville, this is our reality on about 10 or 15 days out of the year - maybe 20. But today is one of them. I snapped the pic above while cruising across campus - which is buzzing - an hour ago.

Why is the campus all abuzz? Because tomorrow ESPN rolls into the Commons for a live broadcast of their GameDay program - highlighting the fact that at 5pm on Saturday the number #19 and undefeated 'Dores will be taking on the #13 Auburn Tigers in a sold-out Vanderbilt Football Stadium. Yes, it's official. Vanderbilt has become where college football lives.