Anyway, Grasshopper is still searching for his next step and decided to ponder questions about spirituality tonight. That is, I've been listening to classical music on youtube that are accompanied by nice-looking paintings/photos and thinking about what a nice world we live in.
Cheesey? Definitely. But there were actually a few things I've wanted to mention recently and I figure that now is as good a time as any to talk about this.
First, the story of stepping into poo.
A few weeks ago, I went for a walk around Manhattan with one of my friends and nearly stepped into a pile of dog crap. The reason I missed it was that he pulled me aside at the last second and saved me from putting my flip flops into poo in the middle of the sidewalk. Thank goodness!
The next day, I went to view a few real estate properties for my internship and was on my way back to the office by noon. After getting to my desk, I noticed a weird smell... And it was coming from my shoe?
Odd, I thought. I never had foot odor before. What was going on?
I turned over the sole of my shoe and noticed that I had, in fact, stepped into dog poo. And I spent the next hour scrubbing off my shoe, as well as the carpet that I had walked on (not to mention, also buying disinfectant and cleaning everywhere I had been in the office!). Not fun...
But this provided me with a lesson of destiny. The night before, my friend had rescued me from stepping into dog crap-- but I couldn't avoid it the next day.
Perhaps this challenge was meant to be and my fate was sealed. Or I just need to be more careful about where I step. Nonetheless, it was food for thought...
The other story I wanted to mention was about the Buddhist figure with whom I feel most closely associated, Avalokiteshvara.
The details of his story vary a lot by where you hear it from, but the version that I originally heard (and like the most) is that Avalokiteshvara was a prince who sought to cure the world of all its misery. He swore, "if I fail, may my head break into 10 pieces!"
As he helped people along, however, he noticed that once one problem was fixed, another would immediately arise and he began to despair. The second he lost hope, Avalokiteshvara's head broke into 10 pieces.
Seeing this, the Buddhas decided to help put the pieces back together as individual heads, and gave him a third eye on each head and an eleventh head above the original 10. This way, he could always see the sufferings of sentient beings around the world.
Additionally, the Buddhas gave him 1,000 arms so that he could lend a hand (so to speak) to everyone in need.
Today, the Dalai Lama is considered a reincarnation of Avalokiteshvara (or "Chenrezig" as his name is called in the Tibetan language), the Bodhisattva of compassion.
And all of this reminds me of my trip to Thailand, but I'll have to share actual photo highlights in a separate post.
Suffice it to say that it was really while I was in Southeast Asia last summer that I got this idea of feeling at peace with myself.
One night while I was traveling, I just imagined what it would be like if I were to die in my sleep and whether I'd be upset looking back on my life.
Somehow, I came to the realization that I was pretty happy with the way I have lived up until that point and I've made it a fairly common practice to reflect on everything every once in a while-- because you never know what'll happen.
I guess, although I'm still unemployed and I haven't had a chance to raise a family or do some other big things in the world, I'm pretty satisfied with what I've accomplished in my years on Earth and would feel comfortable knowing what I'm leaving behind-- even if it's not a legacy that people will necessarily remember in generations to come. My friends and family all know how much I appreciate their love and support, and I hope they know that I would gladly do the same for them.
All we really have is the present moment and it's important to really live.
So on that note, I bid the world good night!
I'll try again not to sleep through all of tomorrow. Teeheehee!
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