Out of the Mouths of...

Dear Maria,

Very quiet here—too quiet? Now that June is arrived and the school buses are not rolling, the morning walk with Max is even quieter. Be thankful, I know.

Last week I confessed to a friend in Baton Rouge an odd bias on my part that still has me shaking my head a bit. I watched a video of Wayne Dyer talking with Oprah about a year in his life that he decided to give over to reflecting upon the Tao Te Ching and to give up much of his normal schedule. What I did was reflexively bristle at the idea of two wealthy individuals talking about letting go of things and living in the moment. My growling came not by way of reflection.

Wonder where my kneejerk response came from. Perhaps I am guilty of snobbery to take the ideas of the ancients to heart, but then reject the same line of thinking from someone who is on the bestseller lists many times over or who can command speaking fees. Guess there is not much point in belaboring Oprah’s wealth.

Herman Hesse observes that letting go of a love requires more strength than not doing so, and so does Ann Landers. Does it matter where the idea comes from if it is taken to heart? What if the life-changing moment comes via a bumper sticker? Less valid than, oh, Marcus Aurelias or the Dalai Lama speaking to the same point? So, message, or messenger? Do we internalize a notion because of its costs?

On a few occasions, I have received very nice comments to the effect that something I wrote and posted made someone laugh or feel better about some matter, or at least was entertaining to a degree. Happily, that works for me, and I have said often that one reader of my stuff is enough.

Of course, I am not a entombed in the long list of long lost writers and thinkers that various quotations sites offer to us on any number of subjects, nor am I at the front of the ranks of folks who may charge $100, or more, a head for a couple of hours of my insight.

I guess we will take comfort in words where we find them, and so I will again at some point, from my mother or a friend, from Seneca or Howard the Duck.

Please accept my warmest wishes for a pleasant June. They are honestly offered.

Yours, srk