I am Siddhartha

A recurrent word in discussions with Western practitioners of Taoism or Buddhism is “Detachment.” Siddhartha, the Buddha, is the poster boy for detachment. His story is about a solitary quest for enlightenment that comes to him when he is alone and where he has been solitary for a long time under a Bodi tree. Hmmm.

Gazillions of people globally are sitting in the lotus position aspiring to His mental state—or as close as they can get. Not me. I have never lotused and never will. Mention yoga and I run from the room.

Still, I have always admired the principles of the Buddhist faith, as I understand them. In fact, I have spent a lifetime aspiring to belong to a faith. But the devoted adherents of every faith whose speech is always so full of their specific spiritual vocabulary are alienating. Houston, we have a conundrum.

The endless solitude of my retirement gives me a lot—some might say, too much—time to think. And not just think, but think about myself and my life…. Dangerous territory. But this morning, I have awakened “enlightened” after only a few hours under a down quilt.

I am a loner. I have never fit in but I have made fast friendships easily and love my friends. I am the ultimate loner because I have no family and for my whole life I have seen that as a problem—but no more. As of this morning I feel detached not lonely.

They say, “It gets better.” Joan Rivers said: “It doesn’t get better. You get better.” I’m with Joan.

So….

Click to enlarge. Read where the arrow points Canucks!

I love Egyptian art especially things pertaining to the rein
of King Akhenaten. In a culture with a long history of rather
linear design, he brought fluidity and softness. These are his
lips. Sadly, when I got to Egypt (having bought my tickets
months in advance, I got there for the civil unrest in Tahrir
square and the museum had been looted and was in chaos.   

Akhenaten again. 

Ultimate perfection in marble, no?