Ring out the old, ring in the new (George Harrison)

Wie geht's?

It's a new year! The pages in my three key daily texts have returned to page one again.

I have started every day for the last few years by reading 366 Days with Wisdom (Venerable Master Hsing Yun) and The Daily Stoic (Ryan Holliday). When I can, I also read the day's entry in 365 Days with the Saints (Carol Keely-Gangi).

Yes, I get wisdom from where I find it.

Here's what each of them has for their January 1st entry:

366 Days with Wisdom  

Each day one needs to speak kind and gentle words.

Each day one needs to do what is beneficial.

We are successful only when we begin today.

The Daily Stoic

The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control (Epictetus).

365 Days with the Saints

Mary of Nazareth is today's saint.

From Mary, we learn to trust even when all hope seems gone (Pope John Paul II).

And away we go...

Love and peace - Wozza

We can't chase after time but we can see clearly the value of life from it (Hsing Yun)

Love birds

Wie geht's?

April again. That means all those anniversaries pop up with startling regularity. Long standing readers will remember a variety of posts over the years in April that celebrate our family weddings. Here's last year's version frinstance.

I think I've used a great passage from 266 Days With Wisdom for the 21st of April before - that date happens to be our 39th wedding anniversary.

It bears repeating:

Anything of value should not be temporary; it should last into the future. Anything of value should not depend on superficial factors; it should be realized from the depth of the heart.

Love and peace and happy anniversary baby - Woz

Yes my name it is written in the sand and it cannot escape your sweeping hand (Jack Bruce/ Pete Brown)

Wie geht's?

Venerable master Hsing Yun divides life into four different levels: material (basic requirements like work, food, shelter); spiritual (love, exercise, improvements to our knowledge and wisdom); cultural (such as literature, music, art); religious (based on having a belief).

A couple of those levels are the focus of my other weblogs. Which means...it's time for a cultural catch-up on Wozza's Place. 

Viewing wise we are chewing through a couple of series on Netflix - Blindspot and Chicago Med. Both are okay but if you are the type who struggles with suspension of disbelief then I suggest you pass. Plus, I spend minutes each episode of Chicago Med looking at the ceiling during the realistic medical procedures. Nurse Jacky enjoys it though. Blindspot is ridiculous in a B grade kind of way, so we are hanging in there. Adam and Jill from work has recommended Vigil and we'll try that one too.

Music is always around me. I now have a two week term break from school so plenty of time to indulge. Currently I'm undergoing a catch up on bands like The Kinks and Genesis who I've dipped into over the years but in a cherry picking way. It's great discovering a band's back catalogue without needing to be a completist in the case of those two bands.

Also in music news: Greg, Kevin and I have started our version of an album club (each week we take it in turns to select an album to listen to and comment on - harmless innocent fun during these lockdown times - you should try it!)

In terms of art, I am waiting for The Beatles' Get Back to come out on Roctober 15, it's a tie in to the 50th anniversary editions of Let It Be, and I have a couple of graphic novels to catch up on including Mike McCartney's Family Album and Max Ernst's surrealistic novel in collage Une semaine de bonté.

Books that are on the go at present are Ian McEwan's Solar (again - it's okay and captured me in sections - a case of I was too far in to give it up) and Mike Barnes' A New Day Yesterday (subtitled UK progressive rock and the 1970s - wooah - am I the demographic for that one or what!)

And in other news: 

Have I mentioned before what lousy luck we have with cats? I feel like I have.

This week we said farewell to Rolly and Stevie. Sadly, during the fortnight that we had them, we discovered they had a variety of diseases that we couldn't live with, so, after some hard decisions were made, Jacky delivered them back to the SPCA.

Generally, we just don't have great luck with cats. They are either run over on the road, disappear during the night, escape in transit, or develop sickness.

It doesn't seem to matter if it's a cat from the SPCA (although we've had bad experiences with that source twice now) or a pet shop. It's the same result.

It's tough because we immediately invest our love and care and bond with animals quickly. Then it becomes a wrench when something happens to them. With cats, it seems that inevitably happens.

The upshot being a wariness and a reluctance to get involved with cats. Sorry team.

Love and peace - Wozza

Contentment is like a magic stone; everything it touches changes to gold - happiness (Hsing Yun)

Wie geht's?

This one is about contentment in general and mine in particular. 

In the lunch room this week conversation turned to my eating habits.

I know - clearly a slow week.

I'd joined lunch conversation late, having just completed a brisk walk around the sports park.

After I made obvious a move away from Terese's egg lunch to another table and reexplained my aversion to eggs (thanks dad), my colleagues expressed anew their interest stroke amazement in my choice of lunch menu - a small tin of lemon pepper flavour tuna spread on 6 cruskits, and the fact that I have the same thing every day, while they heat up elaborate left overs or delectable looking salads and so forth.

Sorry - long sentence. Here's some short ones...

I am not, nor have I ever been, a foodie. Shock, horror, probe!

My tastes are boring (Graham Purdy believed that a meal wasn't a meal without potatoes and never held with 'foreign muck'). So, I am very happy with my lunch choice - no thinking is required; I love the taste and it's quick and easy. Job done.

They then asked me what I had for dinner and I laughed.

Because, erm, tuna bake, was the answer.

If Jacky wants to make my day she'll buy a tuna bake combo from New World - which makes a meal for four.

She makes up a big basin of the stuff and I enjoy it over three consecutive dinner nights.

I'm very content with that.

As Venerable Master Hsing Yun says - contentment equals happiness.

My colleagues again expressed interest stroke amazement at this as they then meditated on their daily rituals of trying to satisfy their families with interesting and different meals.

If there is only suffering, then what is the meaning of life? (Hsing Yun again - he's very wise!)

Happiness can be found anywhere and mine is found in simple plain meals, and an influx of Omega 3.

Luckily Jacky and I both see food as fuel, therefore, we don't spend a lot of time agonising over our food choices. That food choice doesn't influence our mood or mean much because tomorrow is another day and when I'm into my three days of the tuna bake regime I don't think about food much at all (maybe a fleeting sense of anticipation pootling along on the commute home in the purdsmobile). 

I think I'm lucky in my singular contentment. It means I'm not in the least interested in cooking programmes on the television; we own one store bought cookbook - the Edmonds one obviously - I'm a proud Nu Zildner; and I don't care about expensive food gadgets.

Couple of caveats to end: Not thinking about food is a luxury that I'm very aware is a privileged position and I should point out Jacky does not necessarily approve of my tuna routine but she knows I enjoy it and my contentment makes her content.

Love and peace - Wozza

Old man look at my life, I'm a lot like you were (Neil Young)

John Moeses Bauan on Unsplash

Wie geht's?

While reading last weekend, I noticed an interesting resonating thread between 366 Days With Wisdom (Venerable Master Hsing Yun) and Saturday (novel by Ian McEwan). 

First from 366 Days - May 7:

In childhood, we should correct ourselves frequently,

In youth, we should face ourselves seriously,

In adulthood, we should expand ourselves widely,

In old-age, we should perfect ourselves completely.

And in Saturday, McEwan has his main character (Henry Perowne) make the following discovery when reacquainted with his daughter Daisy after a 6 month absence:

This is the pain-pleasure of having newly adult children; they're innocent and ruthless in forgetting their sweet old dependence.

That perspective reached from an older age is an interesting one to ruminate upon. The stages of growth and learning are nicely summarised by Hsing Yun, and I like that it's a learning process that doesn't have an end point.

McEwan has a nice way with him as well. His writing is finely honed but glides on by in an easy style. I'll have to look out for more of his novels.

Love and peace - Wozza