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You are here: Home / Archives for Buddhism

Buddhism

This is a Test

February 3, 2013 by sue campbell

file000711900263For some reason, I was awake in the middle of night thinking about something a Buddhist nun said.

I was recovering from the flu and sharing a twin bed with a 5-year-old and a 73 pound dog, so it’s no wonder I couldn’t sleep.

I kept thinking of Pema Chodron telling the story of some folks on a Buddhist retreat. One of the retreat attendants was unpopular due to his general negativity. He was bringing the whole group down.

Finally, the group was out on the grounds of the monastery moving rocks or performing some such act of service and the unpopular guy was in a huff about it and would not stop complaining. He finally got so worked up he stormed off, announcing he’d never return.

Everybody cheered.

When the monk in charge found out about it, he went out and found the man and brought him back.

The monk was paying the guy to be there.

Because of course, the biggest test of one’s ability to practice lovingkindness, a major precept in Buddhism, is to see if you can do it even with people who get under your skin.

So, this little story was playing in my head on a loop that night (as important bits of subconscious have a tendency to do when we are half asleep).

Finally, I drifted deeper and slept until morning.

I woke up before everyone else, and is my habit, I checked email before I was fully awake.

And there I saw a Facebook friend request from a person who is my annoying guy at the monastery.

I closed my eyes for a moment in rueful recognition, shook my head, smiled, and hit “accept.”

 

Filed Under: Big Themes Tagged With: annoying people, Buddhism, lovingkindness, pema chodron

I Sprang from My Bed to See What Was the Matter, Then Had Some Time to Think

January 2, 2012 by sue campbell

I am not the sort of person who stays up until midnight on New Year’s Eve. And it’s not just because I have a four-and-a-half-year old. Even before procreating I was incapable of staying awake past 10pm. So Saturday night, we all stayed up until 9pm, midnight in New York, and we brought in 2012 by live streaming the ball drop. Only we missed it by a few seconds, so it was just a lot of people kissing and screaming.  And then off to bed.

At midnight pacific standard time, fireworks started going off nearby. Very nearby.  They were loud and clearly illegal. I lay there wondering how many fireworks they could possible have. As the minutes wore on, I imagined a teenager working an $8 and hour summer job, then, because he still lives with his parents and has no real bills to pay, taking the entire $4000 earned after taxes and spending it at a fireworks tent in the parking lot of Albertsons.

I rose and peeked out each window of my house, looking for the source.  Nora stayed sleeping, or my rage would surely have turned murderous. I returned to bed and while waiting for the cortisol to leave system so I could sleep, I began reviewing the New Year’s Resolutions that had been floating through my head.

I know some folks are against the very idea of New Year’s resolutions, but I feel this sort of calendar driven goal setting is a natural human endeavor. People like to think they can pack their problems in a box and pack them away with the holiday trimmings; we simply will ourselves to be a better people with the posting of a new calendar on the kitchen wall. And why not? Resetting intention is about realizing we are imperfect, but not giving up our quest to become our best selves.

So, in no particular order, I present my 2012 New Year’s Resolutions:

  • Blog with discipline. I’ve justified my recent absence by telling myself everyone is too busy with friends and family this time of year to read my little blog anyway, but the truth is I’m a better writer when I’m doing it all the time. This week, I’ll decide on a posting schedule and stick to it.
  • Carve out time for dates with Ben. We have let this slip, and that’s a mistake. We need the time to just be with each other without the pull of housework and personal projects.
  • Remember to give the dog some attention. He’s such a good dog. And he won’t be around forever.
  • Make exercise more routine, and more of it yoga. Exercise is instrumental in blood sugar management, and yoga boosts the stress relief factor.
  • Explore Buddhism. From what I know so far, Buddhism is about training your mind to prevent the suffering you bring upon yourself. Sounds good to me.
  • Query new magazines, not just my three old standbys. I’m getting too comfortable with the places I’ve been published so far, it’s time to go beyond my comfort zone.
  • Be a little more tidy. This one is for Ben, really. But wouldn’t it be nice if he made a counter resolution to be a little more tolerant of mess? We could meet in the middle sometime around June.
How do you feel about resolutions? Are you making any this year?

Filed Under: Big Themes Tagged With: blogging, Buddhism, freelancing, New Year's Resolutions, yoga

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What kind of blog is this?

This is a blog for PARENTS. True, the writer, Sue Campbell, writes books for kids. But this blog is for grown-ups. It has some swearing and would be super boring for kids. Except for the swearing.

The PODCAST is for KIDS and PARENTS. In fact, my twelve-year-old daughter is my co-host.

If your kids like Sue's books, send them over to suecampbellbooks.com where there's some kid-friendly content. EVEN BETTER, join the mailing list. You get stuff for grown-ups and printable stuff for kids. And sometimes there will be super ill-advised giveaways or coloring contests for free books.

MORE ABOUT SUE: She makes an ACTUAL LIVING from writing words and marketing books and lives with her husband, two daughters, six chickens and one messy house rabbit in Portland, Oregon. And yes, Portland IS that weird. She really couldn't be any luckier.

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