Busy days, sunshine, and soon – travel

I’m an introvert. I come from a long line of men who take life slowly, keep things simple, and enjoying the grace of quiet. Like anyone though, I love spending time with friends, traveling, and so on. I just can’t do that much of it before I’m exhausted. And grumpy.

And summertime in Montana seems to equal hang-out time for ‘kids’ my age. And so it goes. A weekend at the lake for the fourth. Beer with professors, followed by dinner with a high school friend passing through, and then just hanging out with other old friends from my philosophy days. Tonight I teach, then should go to sangha, but I’ve been invited to two gatherings I feel somewhat obliged to attend… But… Really? Should I?  I’m thinking no.

Tomorrow I pack and may take a trip to Helena (with all of my upcoming travels I’ll be leaving my apartment here). Then Friday – folk festival in Butte? Saturday an advanced Chi Running clinic; Sunday the half-marathon, followed by World Cup final, followed by my going away party. Deep breath. Next week seems chill – at last.Until Friday when I board my plane to L.A. And Sat-Mon when I’ll be camping on Catalina Island with my sister and hopefully making my way eastward to see a friend on the other side of L.A. Then Tuesday, it’s Taiwan time. Luckily an American friend I met last year in China will be there so I’ll have a guide and translator for the two days in Taipei before being whisked south to Fo Guan Shan’s giant temple in the south of the country for three weeks of monkish life. Oh lord how I look forward to that.

Of course I’ll sneak in my computer and teaching materials for India to prep a bit here and there.

Enough whining, eh?

It’s a beautiful day here in Western Montana and I should be out doing something.  Or just meditating a bit right here, right now. Ahhhh. That’s better. The introvert’s mind is set at ease. The world is again a place of joy.