There was a monk who complained that he could not sit in perfect meditation. The master said that the act of sitting in the struggle with the wandering mind is the what is sought. The struggle itself is the way. So, not perfection but the struggle is the path to Nirvana.

I was cracked when I was made. And that has made all the difference. Whether bad or good, well that depends on where you stand and what you see as obvious. For me, it was a time of fear of being found out. Of not being normal. Not being accepted. Not being able to prove myself as worthy. Now, being much older and closer to death, it doesn’t seem to matter as much. It becomes easier to accept my flaws for they will never change even though I listen for advice to change.

The tree was leaning over the back yard fence into the neighbor’s yard. If it fell down then it would crush his house. His insurance company wrote to him to tell us that we would be financially responsible if the tree fell. So, spent over $4000 to have it removed. That was the money for the shed I was going to build in our back yard. The tree was really leaning and we feared having to pay for fixing his house if it fell. So, things get pushed back another year or two. Hot water heater is ready to be replaced. Bought the replacement. Just waiting for my wife to give me the go ahead.

Ohh, Buddha for the fridge? My wife believes in the Feng Shui. The orientation of the house, the number on the mailbox, how the furniture is set up and stuff like that. I do not think it belongs on the fridge. LOL. Maybe on one of the cat walks?? Haha.

Another short story, …

An emperor, who was known for his foul temper, entered the bedroom of his soon-to-be-bride. She was being forced to marry him against her will as it was a duty she had to do for her family.

“Hello” he said to her, but she didn’t answer.
“I said hello to you. And you will respond when I talk you! Do you understand me??” he snapped at her. She didn’t reply.

He angrily asked, “What are you thinking?”

After a long silence, she answered him. “Two things. One, that I do not wish to marry you because you are mean and disrespectful. And the second thing is that I was wondering if you have it within your power to have something changed.”

“What!” the emperor exclaimed with anger. “How dare you question my authority! Since I can do anything with the snap of my fingers and whatever I command within my kingdom will be done, what is it you are wondering I could change?”

“Your attitude,” she quipped. And with that she got up and walked out of the bedroom, leaving him in silence.

My wife has got me trained. When she ask about anything that I have done, I shout back that it was done right. Then she goes about explaining. I listen and apologize for yelling. There is no anger. Just something we do as an old married couple.

Well, it is a fictional story. But in real life, daughters have family pressure to do what is required of them. So, they may be forced to marry. The emperor also have restrictions to marry to combine two nations. It does no good to kill the woman that represents the other nation. The daughter having the hutspah to speak up may be imaginary. However it does make for an intriguing beginning??

Yes, you get it. Wife does criticize and I have developed a defense mechanism. Which reminds me of the story of the woman who complains to her friend how her husband get so mad. The friend suggests to swish water in her mouth when her husband gets angry. Two weeks later she talks to her friend and aske why does swishing water calm her husband down. The friend explains that keeping her mouth shout helps. LOL That was a YouTube video joke I saw recently.