The plan was that on Thanksgiving I would fly to Phoenix, a couple of days after returning from touring in Texas, and get on a plane to L.A. At LAX I would catch a flight to Seoul and a second flight from there to Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon. Sometime today I would have landed there.
I found this cheap flight in February and booked it right away. I also booked two different hotels, a cheap one for most of the stay, and a more pricey one for the the last couple of nights, just because it looked beautiful. I was feeling the urge to explore, after looking through a diary I had kept during my travels in Asia in 1978. That spirit of being nineteen in a foreign location was something I wanted to rekindle. Use it or lose it. Aging is quicksand and one can easily, and very quickly, get stuck. My co-pilot encouraged me and for a few weeks – this was during the California tour in February – I was very excited about this trip. I planned what I was going to take with me. It was going to be very little, just a backpack and a small carryon.
But this year unfolded very differently. I was able to get a refund for the flight, which the airline eventually cancelled altogether, and one of the hotels. The other hotel was bought at a non-refundable price.
There is always next year. Or the year after next year.
2020 became the year to stay home, to record music, and to think.
Yesterday I thought that life itself is the practice. Life is one cross-training opportunity after another. The practice is how we engage with another person, how we treat an animal, how we go about our daily business. Meditation, or prayer, are simply there to help us improve what is the real practice… daily life. The Dalai Lama said (I quote from memory) that we don’t need more Buddhists but we need more people who are kind.
Continuous practice, day after day, is the most appropriate way of expressing gratitude. This means that you practice continuously, without wasting a single day of your life, without using it for your own sake. Why is it so? Your life is a fortunate outcome of the continuous practice of the past. You should express your gratitude immediately.
— Dogen (translated by Kaz Tanahashi)
Yes, Ottmar. I, too, had to cancel flights, hotels, performance tickets and was fortunate to get all the money back. As a produce Manager at Shaw’s Market in Wells, Maine, said, with a Brooklyn Accent: : “It don’t MATTER!” (My co-pilot was hounding him about exactly how to cook corn on the cob.)
When we are quibbling over something, we use the produce Fellow’s utterance as a Mantra – love and harmony instantly restored. Your Quote about continuous practice Shows the depths of this Mantra. I love it; I love you.
And today is a Winter Wonderland in Santa Fe. Fresh scenes of Beauty everywhere.
In the past couple of years I was able to save money by frequently booking hotel rooms for the touring group that were non-refundable. This year that didn’t turn out so well. :-)
I milked the heck out of covid and that I am over 30. :-) My Alaska air ticket was non-refundable, but they gave me a voucher good until July 2021.
Ottmar, I like your respect for the value of money. I have learned to enjoy NOT buying stuff. Yeah!
Buy less and buy stuff that lasts…
My mantra. It’s also a highly political statement, a stance against pollution and waste and such.
:-)
“Yesterday I thought that life itself is the practice. Life is one cross-training opportunity after another. The practice is how we engage with another person, how we treat an animal, how we go about our daily business.”
Very well said! Life is the practice and process, all to often we get hung up on the goal or end result we overlook the seasons/changes of our hour/day/month/life. We learn more in the practice than the achievement of the end result. Meditation/prayer is what prepares us for the practice.
Ottmar, like you I also had to cancel my trips. Every year I do volunteer work in Asia somewhere. This year I was going to Bali but I was able to cancel everything and fortunately was able to get my deposit back for the house I was going to rent for a couple weeks after volunteering. I am just hoping I can do my volunteer gig in 2021. I always winter in Puerto Vallarta Mexico but that is out too this year. I miss the color and life in Mexico.
This year I just find joy in simple things like playing with my dogs, painting, reading, writing and listening to music. Lets hope 2021 will allow us the freedom to travel again.
Thank you for your wisdom, Ottmar. I feel immense gratitude for this space, where I learn and grow.
Blessings to each of you here, your co-pilots, your children and siblings, your friends and animals. God bless Life and Love eternal.