GRATITUDE II



Paramahansa Yogananda once said of the Thanksgiving holiday, "Be grateful of the Divine plan that will expedite the karmas of all the sacrificed turkeys, and be grateful that you are not one of the turkeys on the table."



and from Sri Dharma Mittra:

“God is right there in the center of your chest. This is our spiritual heart. The stomach residing underneath the heart center is the Lord’s Table. Practice ahimsa [no-harming], and consider what you are about to offer to the Lord, as your own body is his altar. As you sit to the feast, practice aparigraha [non-hoarding] and take only what you need and share equally with others. As we continue to practice yama & niyama [the ethical roots] and rest our mind on God, we will become more compassionate and our bodies will be cleansed physically, emotionally and spiritually. Our heart centers will become clearer and we will be lighter.”

ON GIVING THANKS



from my dear writing teacher, Mel Livatino:

"I long ago concluded there is absolutely no happiness without gratitude. It's as absolute a law as the law that says all circles have 360 degrees."

DOES MY CAT LOOK FAT TO YOU?






I actually said this to someone last week*.

He was polite, and said Kirby looked "fine" to him.

Clearly, he'd had prior experience in this area.







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*It dawned on me that Kirby might be overweight after meeting Smitty Smith (yes, that is his real name), an equally athletic Tabby whose belly does not hang down to the floor.













This photo shows Kirby's room, which is now in a state of anarchy. To show his displeasure with the pre-moving activity, he spent much of the day snuggled under the covers in the bedroom. I wanted to join him, but only did so after filling Box #50.

TABLES TURNED



On Thursday I treated myself to the $3.49 fixed plate meal at my current favorite Indian veg. restaurant. It's on the west end of Devon, and the mood inside is very sattvic.

The quiet was interrupted by two men who burst in. They were carrying Christmas toys. The tall white one in the suit did the talking. The African American one in the cornrows kept quiet and watched.

The tall one tried to sell the Christmas toys to the cashier. "These are usually $34.95, but I'm selling them for $11 each. I only have six left. How many do you want? Two?

The woman was impassive. She looked skeptically at the toy. "No."

"Are you saying you don't like a good deal?" the man asked. He was high-energy. "Do you like a good deal?"

"Yes," said the woman quietly.

"Then how many do you want?"

The woman started to turn away when the cook walked over. She grabbed the toy and looked at it. "How much?" she asked.

"Eleven dollars each. How many do you want?"

"Two for eleven," she said. (Sitting at a nearby table, I couldn't help but let out a loud guffaw).

The man was shocked by her offer. "I can't do that," he stammered. "You're already getting a great deal." Then he remembered his spiel. "How many do you want?"

"Two for eleven." The cook would not budge. She was smiling.

And the man, having met his match, threw up his hands and walked out.

His apprentice followed.

They went east on Devon Avenue towards the heart of Little India/Pakistan, where they were sure to meet more expert bargainers. I didn't envy them at all.

As soon as they were gone, I looked over at the women and said, "Well done!"

We all giggled, and smiled from ear to ear.

And I felt sad to be leaving a neighborhood where things like this can happen.

Very sad indeed.

TODAY'S BURNING QUESTION: PORCELAIN OR STAINLESS?




Somehow I inherited two sets of mixing bowls from women who rarely cooked.

I use them about as much as they did.

Which should I keep?

The lightweight, indestructible, boring stainless set?

Or the pretty, vintage, extremely heavy, sentimental and breakable porcelain ones?

So far, the advice has been to keep the stainless.

The arguments have been....

"You can't break it."

and

"Non-attachment"



What would you do?







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UPDATE: I'm taking (most of) your advice, and chucking the nouveau-pink Chucks. Ladies size 10, by the way.

WHICH CHUCKS TO CHUCK?



The mind has been very good about getting rid of many, many things, but for some reason it cannot decide which pair of Converse All-Stars to keep, and which to toss.

(It was even able to give up the pair of Adidas purchased in Nurnberg).

Should it be the older, old-school black ones on the right, or the newfangled black-and-pink model on the left?

They're about equally beat up and equally smelly.

Any advice?

REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
...OR JUST TOSS IT OUT





On Saturday I made the annual trek to Wicker Park to sell my old books at Myopic ($65) and old clothes at the resale shops ($6). The clothes places are super-picky this year - either that or my second wave of castoff clothes is not as good as the first. Nonetheless it was still energizing to get money for my old things. I can use it to buy boxes for the move.

I took the leftovers to the Salvation Army dropoff center on Clybourn. The parking lot was PACKED, with people both dropping off and buying things at the store. Interesting economic times, these.

On Sunday I went through the closets, and filled two gigantic contractor bags with castoffs. (I had 92 boxes of stuff on my last move; my goal for this one is 70. Also the new apartment has only two closets, while the current place boasts four).

Today I called The Ark thrift store on Lincoln Avenue, to find out if they are still accepting donations. Last week I noticed several large "Liquidation" signs in the window.

My hunch was correct; they've closed the Lincoln Avenue location but are still taking items at 1302 N. Milwaukee.

Not exactly convenient.

But at least The Ark doesn't chase you down the street, forcing you to take back your stuff like these guys once did.

I also called the city's computer and hazardous waste recycling center to find out if they take old cassette tapes.

They do not, and recommended throwing them out.

Twenty years of mix tapes will wind up in a landfill, ouch.




To read my article on getting rid of stuff and how it fits into the yoga system, click here.