Raccoon Diarrhea

Somebody who lives on or near this road has diarrhea. I could feel the sting just looking at the scat of.... What? A raccoon?  I found 2 tiny "cowpies" on our driveway, about ten feet apart. Somebody had to go and go badly. And then again. You know how that feels.

Food goes in our mouths; our bodies compost it; and the remains exit through the bottom of the torso.

The food that goes in my mouth is not me. The waste that comes out the bottom end is not me. How about that composting process? Is that me? The stuff i chew? The masticated mess that the stomach digests? Is that me? The slurry that enters the small intestine. Is that me?

When do the vitamins and minerals become "me"?

The body is constantly changing. Water in. Pee out. Is it ever me?

Fragrant Lily

A fragrant pink lily is blooming in my garden! It's a miracle. And it smells delightful.

I gave up on lilies years ago when i realized i was just planting chipmunk food. Then, when i was deleting a flower bed in the spring, there was a clump of lilies. I transplanted them into my backdoor garden where i can keep a close eye on them.

The lily beetles have chewed up the leaves pretty well, and another lily is completely bare of buds or leaves. But i do have this one stem of two lilies.

Sometimes, we feel pretty well chewed up by daily life. We go to meditation, and the inner chewing often continues, until... 

Something blooms. A moment of calm. A moment of beauty. Ah, yes. This moment. When the lilies of the field (and garden) are beautiful.