Buddha Balboa Archives - Page 4 of 9

Day of Birth

I had a birthday yesterday. Thank you, yes, thank you. I made it another year. Certainly survival is something to be proud of.

I’m one of those people who enjoy’s a birthday. I think it fun and exciting to celebrate a moment in time when I slid into this life. Not of any true effort on my part – that was all mom’s doing (as my mother used to like to remind me – that my birthday was actually a day to celebrate HER since she was the one who did all the work.) Mother’s do know best.

Some folks aren’t too keen on a birthday celebration. Some just don’t like all the hoopla of cake and candles, the singing of the always memorable Happy Birthday song. It could be the passage of time they don’t appreciate or the feeling of being the center of attention. Or maybe it was a sad birthday memory where that pony they wished for never materialized. (I, for one, never wished for a pony. I was a tad more practical – requesting a bike or new pair of sneakers. And hay costs a fortune.)

The Confused Truth

The truth can be confusing.

Because although we like to see the truth as something concrete and objective, the truth of truth is that in many cases it is subjective. What you may feel is your truth, I may not feel is my truth.

Why is this? I believe it comes from the variety in our cultures, upbringings and experiences. How we see the truth, politically, economically, socially, may differ immensely from our neighbors. Our opinions and biases come into play – coloring our spectacles.

Certainly there are universal truths that most of us embrace – like that of murder being bad (not including terrorist organizations or the criminally insane, which is a whole different discussion) – but in general, there are those basic beliefs/truths that we understand to be held by most human beings walking the planet. We tend to equate truth with being rock-solid, unbending, unwavering. It makes us feel better to think this way.

I’ve been watching a number of videos this week, in which experts discuss their research and conclusions on various topics about understanding the science of thriving. As the positive psychology movement has been highlighting lately, science can indeed measure and explain our humanness (if you will)…and our unending desires for happiness, love and fulfillment.

Remembering 9/11

9/11. Numbers forever etched in our hearts and minds.

There’s not much that I can add here that hasn’t already been said about that horrific day in our country’s history. It will forever leave a deep wound in each of our hearts.

I was in NYC that day. We all moved around in shock after the event…in slow motion, like a nightmare that we couldn’t shake. Is this for real? How could this happen? So many questions…so much enduring pain.

We must always, and I mean always, remember that day and the loved one’s we lost. Time leaves a scar but the feelings remain. Strong, unending love that can never be extinguished.

Life is not an easy road…we experience pain alongside joy, fear alongside comfort. This is how it is. So I believe it is our responsibility to remind ourselves each day that we are fortunate – even in the midst of struggle or sadness – to be here and to be given the chance to live our lives as best we can.

Be safe my friends. – BB

Unfinished Business

Good intentions.

We all have them. I have them every day. I suspect you have a list of them as well.

As I was cleaning out my email Inbox, I noticed all those emails – offers, classes, promotions – that I just never got around to doing. I save them as “unread” with the expectation that I will get back to them, and partake.

I want to…I really do. But I also know there is only so much time in the day, hours in my week. Time management appears to be one of the greatest complaints of our modern society. “I don’t have enough time” is uttered more than “Please” and “Thank you”. Many a final thought before falling asleep is what we didn’t get done that day. We are overwhelmed and underpaid by our dear friend Father Time.

So, what do we do about it?

Perhaps we just do what I did with my emails – I deleted them. I got ruthless for a few minutes and deleted all those that had either been sitting there too long, or that I just knew I could “let go” this round. There’s only so many shows I can buy tickets to, seminars I can attend, or Walkathons I can donate to before I hit the saturation point. I see it like the fine art of whittling – when you take a basic tree stick and fashion it into an amazing utensil, perfect for hotdog roasting over a campfire. Scrape away what you don’t need and get to the “point.”

It’s a difficult task, I know. We go through this while spring cleaning our bulging closets; when scheduling the kids school and sporting events on the refrigerator calendar. We run up against the ole clock, time and time again, praying for just a few extra minutes.

I give you permission to let go of unfinished business (not that you need my permission, but it helps to get the friendly nudge.) To understand that there are ALWAYS going to be things left undone – and that it’s perfectly okay to do so. The universe will understand, I promise.

What unfinished business can you delete from your list? Let me know. – BB