When I got to my mother's house, she had a pile pf pictures stuffed into a large envelope for me. Mrs. w does quite a bit of geneaology study and I had requested some old picures of the family. I found these three jewels tucked away in the envolope of my Granddad and thought I'd share these images of one of my biggest role models with you all.

I don't know what year this was taken, but dig those threads!





That's my Grandpa standing. He is aged twelve in this picture. That is his older brother seated in the chair. He's aged fifteen in the photo. This was 1924 according to the back of the picture.



Does my Gramps look like Sean Penn in this picture or what?

That is my absolutely gorgeous Grandmother in the photo with him. What a beautiful couple they were! I have no idea when this picture was taken either.

I have more I'll post later on. It was rather nice going back and seeing my Gramps when he was young. I hope you all like the photos.

peace, wayf

 

 

 

Song bird sings

Songs from the rooftop

My heart finds peace

My mind is still

For one blessed

Moment

 

peace, wayf

“People cling to their worldly possessions and selfish passions so blindly as to sacrifice their own lives for them. They are like a child who tries to eat a little honey smeared on the edge of a knife. The amount is by no means enough to appease his appetite, and he runs the risk of wounding his tongue.”

 

(From The Sutra of Forty-two Chapters)

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty was a national hero for his success as both a statesman and military leader. But despite his fame, power, and wealth, he considered himself a humble and devout Buddhist. Often he visited his favorite Zen master to study under him, and they seemed to get along very well. The fact that he was prime minister apparently had no effect on their relationship, which seemed to be simply one of a revered master and respectful student.

One day, during his usual visit, the Prime Minister asked the master, "Your Reverence, what is egotism according to Buddhism?" The master's face turned red, and in a very condescending and insulting tone of voice, he shot back, "What kind of stupid question is that!?"

This unexpected response so shocked the Prime Minister that he became sullen and angry. The Zen master then smiled and said, "THIS, Your Excellency, is egotism."

 

 

(an old Zen Story)

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

 

 

 

 

In our hearts there are oceans of wisdom

Understanding far beyond our scope

But never out of reach

It is in our grasp all along if we receive it

 

(by me)

 

 

 

Everyone have a great week, and I’ll catch up to you all when I get back from my trip!!!!!!

 

 

Peace, wayf

 

 

 

I have noticed within the last few weeks quite a bit of what I would call “trolling” going on in Blogworld. If you are un-familiar with the vernacular, a “troll” is a term used for someone who comes to internet forums solely for the purpose of instigating people’s anger so they can have a good laugh at the end of all of it at how they got under someone else’s skin. There have been, apparently, some who have worked this up to a science, going so far as to gain people’s trust in a deep way and then turning on them, while others just resort to the standard practices of flaming remarks and silly behavior.

 

I have to wonder about the mental state of a person who feels compelled to instigate such responses from people on the internet.  I can sort of see this behavior on a public message board that is set up to debate or discuss a certain topic, but to just go on a person’s personal Blog where personal matters are being discussed in a civil manner and flame them for no good reason is a little puzzling to me. Political blogs and Religious blogs are going to get these kinds of responses, and I am sure that the people who write these types of Blogs are fully aware before they ever even write it that this will happen. The behavior that puzzles me the most is the consciously thought out plans of people to just disrupt a Blog that deals with a person’s personal struggles and cause strife and anger.  

 

Here’s how I see the situation. People have opinions on politics and religion, and these things are volatile situations. The people who write about these topics have usually heard all the arguments before and are used to debating and that is most likely why they started a Blog to begin with. People who write down personal reflections on their lives are not asking to be flamed or trolled. If it is not a topic that invites debate, and you do not like what is said, just turn away and go find a Blogger who wants a fight if that’s what you’re here for. Some people do this to communicate with people on a mature level and get ideas and thoughts out. Don’t disrupt their thoughts out of your childish desires to stir something up.

 

 

 

Peace, wayf

 

No matter where you think you are going

Whichever direction your travels take you

There is one direction you should always

 Allow yourself to follow;

 

That is the one that goes inward

 

peace, wayf