The author of Tholeman says in an excellent posting on meditation, 'The stillness of meditation can be likened to a stone lying on the beach but below the tidal margin. The waves constantly crash over it but when the waves recede, it is still there, a stone.' In a later posting he speaks of his wife's recent brush with serious illness. Perhaps we can all spare a thought for Tholeman's wife who has just returned from hospital and for whom the bell did not toll, thankfully.

I'd like to link to this posting of March 15th however that's not possible. Can you add, or switch on, what ever is needed in order to link directly to your thoughtful posts. Nice photos too.

A kind friend explained how to link directly to a specific posting, thanks Heather. (added 10.00 am MT, 23rd March)

Finally I did something about the coin purse that departed my company during the return trip from Vancouver to Edmonton last Saturday. It was easy, both the airports and the airline have a 'lost and found' section on their web sites. A few clicks and a phone call and my purse is now being pursued by kind and dedicated people. When you think about it I'd entered one of the most common zones for items to go missing, airports and 'planes. And of course there would be services to seek and find and return precious belongings. Thing is, I didn't realize how precious the purse was, until this afternoon.

Yes, I'd been a bit preoccupied and a bit bent out of shape these past days, I'd put that down to dealing with business at the Bank. And then, as the tensions subsided with my finally 'getting through' to the right person, I found myself relaxing and then grieving deeply. Tears were falling in fact, but for what? The purse had long since been written off to experience. Then the realization pennies started to drop. The lost purse! It had been given me by one of my Dharma Uncles in Japan last year. For me it was a token of the love and support I found among my Dharma relatives in the East. It was the purse I'd have in my pocket, along with my keys, when out walking in the neighbourhood, with the 'just in case' coins to use in an emergency. It was my 'quick draw' purse holding my book of bus tickets. It held priory business cards, just in case I needed to give my address and phone number, which I still haven't memorized reliably. In short that purse represented personal security and above all multi level support.

In an ultimate sense one has nothing, wants nothing and indeed, knows nothing and in a relative sense cash is needed to function, an address is necessary to return to and a key to get in the door essential. Once again I realize my good fortune with gratitude, for having an address, a key and the means to live, comfortably. The loss of a token of this support is small fry the reminder, discovered through it's loss, is a huge gift.