each day

. . . life keeps emitting sweet little wake-up calls. Allow me to explain —

All afternoon someone had been using a grinding tool near where I live. You know, the kind that makes high-pitched noises to spoil one’s leisure time. On and on for ages, I tell ya! Eventually my good-monk nature imploded and — before anyone could say Exhale! — I dashed outside to locate the offending toiler: How dare you disturb my peace and quiet!

The instant I arrived at next door’s garage my mission came to a halt: What had I been (not) thinking? What folly had propelled me on this course? Folly, according to the dictionary, “a lack of good sense, understanding, or foresight”. As quickly as I’d arrived I scurried back home, acknowledging that c’est pas de tes oignons as the French say.[1]

Alan Watts writes, “As muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone, it could be argued that those who sit quietly and do nothing are making one of the best possible contributions to a world in turmoil.”[2]

♥

[1] not your onions, i.e. none of your business.  [2] Watts, A.W. (1957). The Way of Zen. image: Nothing to do with the story but: way back, French farmers used to make it their business to cross the Channel by fishing boats to the south of England and sell their onions door to door.