Tears of Blessing

I offer my first tears of blessing in the eighth month of 2012 to Angulimala, the brahmin of thousand-finger garland, who has come to a stop under the instruction of the Conqueror. May I be able to follow in his footsteps and stop myself from this endless suffering.
I pay homage to the One who has mastered the insight into the true nature of self and suffering. 

I offer my second tears of blessing in the eleventh month of 2012 to Arya Tara, Mother of mercy and compassion who hears the cries of all suffering. May I be protected and liberated by you.
I pay homage to the virtuous friend of my past, present and future lives.

I offer my third tears of blessing in the twelfth month of 2012 to all beings, who have once been my mothers and helpers from endless times ago yet are still suffering until now. May I be able to liberate you.

I offer my fourth tears of blessing in the twelfth month of 2012 to the essence of the Enlightenment Mind, the awakening compassion that strives to replace sentient beings' suffering with ultimate bliss. May it arise in those it has not arisen and may it never decline where it has arisen.
I pay homage to the Precious One from the land of snow, the supreme lineage holder and teacher, who has returned to the land of gold. 

I offer my fifth tears of blessing in the fifth month of 2013 to the power of  Dharma practice, the ultimate protector. May I never be lack of it in all my lives to come until I have become the son of the Conqueror.
I pay homage to the Master of skillful means, the heir of the Golden Lineage in Nusantara.

30 Things To Do Before You're 30

[From Alexandra Aitken's 99 Things To Do Before You're 30, a rival program to Dom Joly's 100 Things To Do Before You Die]

1. Move out of your parents' home

Obvious, really. It's even better if you manage to get on the property ladder.

2. Dye your hair/have an unwise haircut/shave your head

Often as part of an unwise identification with a particular style of music, such as punk, goth or Nu-metal.

3. Women: purchase your first pair of Manolo Blahnik or Jimmy Choo shoes. Men: purchase, then dispose of, some deeply unsuitable footwear

Cowboy boots, winkle pickers, brothel creepers ...

4. Lose a fight

After 30 you should be able to settle things amicably.

5. Attend a wedding/funeral of a contemporary

Both important reminders of the fleeting nature of time.

6. Start writing a novel/film script/slim volume of deeply embarrassing poetry ...

Which will haunt you from the bottom drawer.

7. Spend a night sleeping outside

Whether it's on a Greek beach, or in a London doorway after a particularly damaging night out.

8. Stay up for 48 hours

Believe me, you will never be able to do this after you've turned 30.

9. Have your heart broken

If this hasn't happened by the time you're 30, you're clearly emotionally subnormal.

10. Kill an animal

A bird, a fish, a terminally ill family pet.

11. Drive a sports car extremely fast while wearing sunglasses

Get it out of your system before the grey hairs appear.

12. Lose a week's wages in a casino

13. Make your first million

Wishful thinking, perhaps, but if you plan to be seriously rich, it's good to start early.

14. Have a pregnancy scare

An important part of the emotional maturing process.

15. Have a one-night stand

16. Have an office romance

17. Have sex somewhere peculiar

Aeroplane lavatory, boss's desk, pod on the London Eye, the central hall of Tate Modern ...

18. Be naked in public

Streaking, skinny-dipping or just simple forgetfulness.

19. Have, at the very least, a flirtation with a minor celebrity

It's important to be able to point at the television screen and say: "I've snogged him/her."

20. Take a "work-break" to find yourself ...

Before succumbing to a life of soul-eroding wage slavery.

21. Have a quarter-life crisis

22. Do a McJob

Something deeply menial but soul-improving.

23. Be so short of cash you have to sell something

Anything from record collection, family heirloom, kidney, or even to sexual favours.

24. Work your way around Australia

It takes a while, and you can't get a permit to do casual work once you're over 30. Other continents are also acceptable.

25. Grow out of cannabis

Youthful experimentation is all very well, but a fuddled thirty something with a passion for Pink Floyd and a hunger for Frosties is just embarrassing.

26. Get arrested

For a minor offence, obviously: something like disturbing the peace, which suggests you're not a terminal conformist. At the very least, you should have been breathalysed.

27. Get a tattoo

Absurd if you're getting one if you're over 30.

28. Start your own dotcom

... and see it fail. You'll have a chance to bounce back into a proper job.

29. Drink yourself unconscious

And wake up with only the haziest, shabbiest memories of the night before.

30. Have embarrassing photographs of you posted on a website by friends

...

...

...

[ok, am now making mental note to myself......]

And Not When I Had Come To Die Discover That I Had Not Lived

I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately

I wanted to live deep

And suck out all the marrow of life

To put to rout all that was not life

And not when I had come to die discover that I had not lived.

-Thoreau-

Starbucks

Today is 31 July 2011 and this is my first Starbucks for more than three months...



Oh and it's my first Starbucks in L-town too... Cheers!

Wish Me A Happy Birthday

The Letter

And I will have missed you growing,
And I'll have missed you crying
And I'll have missed you laugh.
Missed your stomping and your shouting,
I'll have missed telling you off,
But please Billy,
Know that I was always there.
I was with you through everything.
And please, Billy...



But please, Billy
know that I will always be
Proud to have known you
Proud that you were mine
Proud in everything
And you must promise me this, Billy

In everything you do
Always be yourself, Billy
And you always will be true

And Ill have missed you growing,
I'll have missed you crying
And I'll have missed you laugh.

Missed your stomping and your shouting,
I have missed telling you off,
But please, Billy,
know that I was always there.
I was with you through everything.
And please, Billy,
Know that I will always be.
Proud to have known you.

Love you forever.



And please, Mammy...
know that I will always be
proud to have known you
proud that you were mine

Proud in everything...
And I promise you this, Mammy,

In everything I do,
I'll always be myself, Mammy.

And I always will be true.

Love you forever.

Mam.

Floral Edition

And these are the bonus ;-)




*All are brought to you by Hyde Park London and Digital Harinezumi*