On Wishlists

“Beware of thirstiness lest your wishes become desires and desire binds you.” – the Dhammapada (Desire)

“The more I have the more I think I’m almost where I need to be. If only I could get a little more.” - the Avett Brothers (Ill with want)

For most of the year, aside from the occasional bike or dog related product, I am fortunate enough to want for very little. In short, I want what I have and have what I want.

Then the ever expanding “Holiday season” comes upon us. It starts with the request for a wish list, which usually takes awhile for me to produce because it’s hard for me to think of things I want when I actually have everything that I want…until I’m forced to spend some time thinking about it…

It starts out modest…a pair of gloves, a set of tire covers for the camper, perhaps some headphones…

There’s the daily tweaking and expansion of the list (damn you Amazon Wish Lists for making it so easy!) until finally we end up with some high ticket items…

…high ticket, somewhat easy to rationalize items, like $150 running pants (ok, tights) that promise to improve performance, prevent injury, and aid recovery...

…which morphs until things like Kindles (damn you Amazon again, for your incessant marketing) and Wii games (for the high ticket item I didn’t need from a previous year)…

…and constant thoughts about what else should be in the list and what priority it should be…

…and the noticing of all of the things around the house that are no longer shiny and new…

…and then there is no way that you are going to get everything on your list because you got so greedy, but it’s on your list, so after the holidays, no matter how generous your family has been, there are still some things that you now “need” and so you spend money that could have been saved for the inevitable furnace repair or vet visit…

…but thankfully pretty early in the process I’ve caught myself and toned it down a bit…

…and have tried to focus on the practical and reasonably priced things…

…and maybe next year, my list can look like this:

1. Inner peace

2. Good health

3. Gratitude

4. A 56 Inch Internet Ready 3D HD LCD TV

On bees and bottles

“Desire is a hollow. And people say, ‘Look! He was free. But now he gives up his freedom.’” – the Dhammapada: Desire
Whilst enjoying lunch yesterday in an urban park with my wife and my good friend, a honey bee landed on my upturned bottle cap from my root beer. Our conversation kind of paused for a moment as we watched the bee drink a few drops of root beer that had collected on the surface of the bottle cap. It kind of looked like this:

*Note that this is not the actual bottle, but one I found on the internet. I was drinking root beer, but you get the point.
When the conversation resumed, some of my attention still remained on the bee. I watched as it flew into my nearly empty bottle, drank a bit, and then tried, unsuccessfully to exit the bottle.
Seeing the opportunity to help, I tipped the bottle so the bee could fly out, which it did, only to return to the bottom of the bottle minutes later. It made me think about people who go through cycles of consumption, remorse, abstention, and on back to consumption once the sting of whatever led to the remorse has faded. I think this cycle continues because the desire never goes away and what’s even worse, we’re not even aware that this is the case. Anyhow, I’m off to get some beer for the weekend…

Desire

"Beware of thirstiness lest your wishes become desires and desire binds you."

This is Tristan. He is a Border Collie. Like many Border Collies, he has a number of compulsive behaviors endearing idiosyncrasies.  One of them is psychogenic polydipsia, which is obsessive water drinking. No matter the size bowl or how recently he has had a drink, Tristan, if you do not stop him, will try to empty a water bowl any time the thought crosses his mind to do so, which is often. This is followed by a forceful paw to the back door, his frantic request to be let outside to relieve his overfull bladder.  Once outside, the dog relieves himself in a session so long, he has to switch legs mid-way, sometimes several times, because he's been standing on one leg for so long. One time I clocked him at 3 minutes. Probably real good for his kidneys. The more he drinks the more he wants to drink and the more he has to pee. Like thirsty ghosts, we're the same way, ever drinking with thirst never quenched. The more we get the more we want and the more we want, the more we have the more we pay a debt for what we have accumulated. The way we try to help Tristan with his particular disorder behavior is to keep him engaged in his environment. In the same way, we need to be engaged in our environment, not distracted by wanting to have but instead having what we want.