I won't say it was easy, but I did manage to drag my sleepy ass out of bed at 5:45 am. I quietly exited the bedroom and the house and headed to Jikoji. It took 30 minutes, door to door, and I had time to transition from the drive up. I took the mini. It was a beautiful morning. The full moon was visible above a cloud bank on the way to Saratoga. The drive up is always breathtaking, provided you are in the moment and paying attention. It's the scenery you see in a movie, and you wonder if it's a real place or CGI. There was still snow and the upper hillsides. The sunrise painted the clouds with an orange hue. Only Nick and Michael were present for Zazen. I did well this time; I had some mental distractions but so good focus. I went up because of the weather and plans Jen has to see Judith make going up any other day this week a challenge, And I want to be going at least one day a week. I felt a strong sense of gratitude driving home afterward, simply for the nature and beauty of the drive and that I get to experience and share this. Knowing that today's beautiful weather was likely the last nice day for the week caused me to prioritize a walk to coffee, where I met "Johnathan, and we proceeded to perform a spot-on parody of old men discussing medical conditions and upcoming procedures. Spot-on, I sang-Theremainder of my day was spent addressing a handful of tasks, including booking my trip to see Eric Fisher in Boulder. It's yet another effort of mine to prioritize my relationships and not continue to hesitate to say yes to the things that matter. I also sat down and watched the second part of the George Carlin documentary on HBO. Wow. It was powerful and made me appreciate and respect his craft and agenda. I like the concept of him being, like Lenny Bruce, a mirror and a critic of our society.
