Thursday, July 9, 2015

Seven Rusty Zens, Two Wonderful Women.

Seven selections from the soon to be possibly forthcoming book, 
entitled either;
Rusty’s Zen Moments
or
The Zen of Ru Sty

1
My Sister’s Loving Zen 
(pg. 47)

It’s my sister’s birthday today.
Her birthday for this lifetime,
I should add,
Only somewhat tongue in cheek.
She was born on July 10,
In the 1950s sometime but a gentlemen never tells.
Nor does a brother.

Yes, today is her birthday.
I am glad she was born.
Glad she was born as my sister, too.
Although anyone would be glad to have a sister like her.
Her name is Pamela.
And she has mighty zen!

When I say sister I mean it literally,
By the way.
Because with zen all of us are sisters and brothers,
Whether we share mutual parentage or not.
Just wanted to make that clear.

She probably wouldn’t think her zen so strong,
My literal sister.
Too modest.
As well as modesty she has an abundance of other human niceties.
Making her easy to be around.
And to love.

Have you ever noticed how
If you love a relative,
You love them more than other people?

Anyway, about my sister.
She has many friends and loved ones.
And that says something about someone, 
Doesn’t it?
But more importantly, 
(To my way of thinking),
She has borne with good grace
Many things of a vicissitudinous nature
(Look it up, I had to)
That would have brought me to my metaphorical knees long ago,
Wailing and crying against the unfairness of life.
But why go on?
Sadly there is suffering in this world.
On that we can all agree.
Plenty of suffering for everybody.

Be that as it may,
My sister has found a way to endure things
With good grace.
And she has lived,
By her own definition,
A happy life.

And believing makes it so, yes?

Ha! Ha!
She has learned the big secret.
And what’s better,
She not only has learned it.
She lives it!

What is this secret?
I hear you ask.

It's Love.

Show your love in everything you do,
Or don’t bother to do it.
For if you bake your bread,
The bread of your life,
Without love,
It will be unpalatable.

That’s it.
Love.
Simple, huh?

As I said before,
My sister has mighty zen!
And plenty of it.
Happy birthday, Pammy!
I love you dearly.
And I’m glad that you were born,
Sometime in the 1950s,
As my sister.



2
Gather All the Zen You Can 
(pg. 8)

You never know about life.
It can all go smoothly.
Or it can go the other way.

Usually, it’s the other way.
That’s life!
Nobody ever said it would be fair, did they? 
It’s full of suffering.
Suffering both earned and unearned.
Better learn to get over it.

In the meantime it might help
To gather all the zen you can.
And try to be as kind as you are able.
Both to others,
And to yourself.
Give up the desiring of worldly things,
(Which only brings disappointment)
And exercise your body every day.
Oh, and it helps to become a vegetarian too.
But that’s not obligatory.

Sounds difficult, doesn’t it?

It’s even more difficult than it sounds.

That’s life again!

But about the zen.
And its gathering.
Don’t worry.
Take all you want.
There’s plenty for everyone. 
There is an endless supply of zen in the universe.



3
Television Zen 
(pg. 12)

I was watching TV last night.
It was a movie about prehistoric times.

Although, it being prehistoric, how would they know?

A woman with big breasts in a little costume was fighting a dinosaur.
She had plenty of zen!
And I’m not talking about her breasts.
(Although they had their share of zen too.)
No, her zen was in her bravery
As she fought the dinosaur.
And in her costume,
Which fought to contain her.

Just in the nick of time a muscleman in another tiny costume came along.
His zen was mighty.
His zen was the zen of valor.

He killed the dinosaur.

Then he was kissed by the TV woman with the big you-know-whats.
They crushed against his manly chest,
Straining to break free from the tiny costume,
While the dinosaur in the background writhed and bled.

Then as the music swelled 
Up came the words,
The End.

Hmmm.
I wonder where that dinosaur is now?
He had the most zen of all. 



4
Zen and the Dead Bird 
(pg. 4)

My zen and I encountered a dead bird in the garden today.
Not a sight one often sees.
I’m thankful for that.

It must have fallen from the sky.

As I buried the little bird I said to my zen, “His time was up.”

“Nonsense,” replied my zen.
“His time is just beginning.”



5
I Left My Zen on the Seat of the Bus 
(pg. 6)

I left my zen on the bus the other day.

I was distracted by the world and wasn't paying attention.
And I left my zen on the seat of the bus.
Next to my umbrella which I also in my distraction left behind.
I got home before I realized.
(It had stopped raining by then.)

But that’s okay.
Don’t worry about my zen.
It’ll find its way home.
It always does.

The umbrella?
I don’t care about that.
I hope its new owner is well served by it.
Like I was.
I hope they’ll be very happy together, 
That umbrella and the person who found it.

Hmmm.
With thinking like that,
My zen must be home already.



6
I Delight in My Zen  
(pg. 7)

I delight in my zen.
Without it, where would I be?
It’s hard to imagine.



7
Saucy Boy’s Zen  
(pg. 13)

I have a friend with mighty zen.
Her name is Saucy Boy.
She is called that because she is saucy,
By the way,
Not because she is a boy.

Actually she is more than a friend.
It is to her that I dedicated this book of zen moments.
For I love her dearly.
She is one of the finest creatures 
I have ever encountered
In this lifetime.
Or any other.
And believe me,
My zen and I,
We’ve been around.

Anyway, like I said, 
My love Saucy Boy,
Her zen is mighty.
So I asked her about it.

Her zen is peaceful and brings contentment, she answered.
(Mine too, sometimes, I thought.)

Her zen is loving and patient, she said.
(My zen can also be those things. Occasionally.)

Her zen is caring and unselfish, she added.
(Hmmm. 
My zen is aware of these concepts,
And we intend to implement them very soon.)

As you can see,
Our zens are different,
Saucy Boy’s and mine.
Very different. 
Yet they are the same.
The same in one important way.
With zen,
Each of us is nourished and sustained.

That’s the beauty of it!

There’s plenty of zen!
An inexhaustible supply.
Of zen there is an endless amount in this universe. 
Plenty for everybody.

Of course,
There is only one 
Saucy Boy.

But that’s 
Plenty for me.

Go safely my love.

1 comment:

  1. My Zenfull brother, I just got my belated Birthday Zen as my lap top was being repaired in Auckland and true to Auckland it took almost 1 month to get back. I had to count to ten to find my Zen :) but today I find to my great delight YOUR ZEN has rubbed off onto me. It is true Blood Zen is thicker than Water Zen!! Thank heavens we share blood :) I love you dearly my talented big brother! X

    ReplyDelete