Last Friday was the opening of the show for the photos from the Wilderness Institute trip to Glacier that I was on<\/span>. Good friends Patia and Jen, and of course miss Julie, all came out in support (thank you!). And then it was off to scope out other art before finding our way to \u201cThe Celtic Connection<\/a>,\u201d Missoula\u2019s only Ireland-inspired store. There they had a keg of Guinness and a circle of musicians, including the youngster here keeping an eye on the rhythm. In the meantime though, I had a very busy week. Monday evening Rev. Master Zensho of the Order of Buddhist<\/a> Contemplatives was in town<\/span>, so Julie and I went to meditate with him at the home of another friend, Sally. Below is Rev. Master Zensho and myself in my office from two years ago when I was teaching. He is an extraordinary man, a man of few words, quite soft-spoken, but always cutting through to the point of life and practice. As with other times spent with him, I came away with deepened confidence in and commitment to my practice and the basic Buddhist vow to work for the benefit of all beings. Wednesday brought \u201cPresident\u2019s Box\u201d tickets to our university\u2019s \u201cLady Griz\u201d women\u2019s basketball game<\/span>. Now typically I\u2019m not a sports fan, at all. But with special tickets, I figured it would be worth checking out. It was great. We had our own little cordoned off area, complete with stocked fridge, candy, and popcorn! Oh, and the game itself was pretty good too, with our team winning easily, something like 65 to 42. So \u2013 gratitude:<\/p>\n As usual, there is plenty to be thankful for these days. Abundance and wonderful activities seem to be everywhere I look. And, as usual, this means I\u2019m busy busy busy. Last Friday was the opening of the show for the photos from the Wilderness Institute trip to Glacier that I was on. Good friends Patia […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_fyeYpxfdjuI\/SUKfS5ql-6I\/AAAAAAAAAUI\/2R0WW-mMPKI\/s1600-h\/IMG_0133.JPG\")
<\/a>And this week the good times continued, starting with my folks driving to town to see the photos on Sunday and to take me out to lunch. Then, Monday was the big Buddhism<\/a> exam, leaving me with a three-inch thick \u201cgrade by Thursday\u201d pile. No worries, though, as I can happily say I finished \u2019em very nearly right on time.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_fyeYpxfdjuI\/SUKfSZS3k0I\/AAAAAAAAAUA\/5nfv5uyc9Og\/s320\/me_at_UM+005.jpg\")
<\/a>Tuesday night brought Julie and I to Jen\u2019s for babysitting (!)<\/span> as Jen and husband went to the Nine Inch Nails concert. It was great that they got to go out on a date, which is understandably tough with four young boys (ages 2, 4, 7, and 10) and work travel. The night was easy and fun, the kids being the most well-behaved and fun children I have been around in as long as I can remember.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_fyeYpxfdjuI\/SUKfTBcsytI\/AAAAAAAAAUQ\/CyVoZV_qF9Q\/s320\/IMG_0971_opti.jpg\")
<\/a>Then, last night, to celebrate being DONE grading exams, Julie and I rolled a delicious batch of sushi, opened a lovely bottle of Syrah, and chilled out for the evening.<\/p>\n\n
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