her path

Buddha1

when a friend
told her it was
something
practiced by
a foreign
religion,
she dropped
out of the
meditation class,
forfeiting
her registration fee
on account of
such short notice,
even though she’d
signed up for it
because it
sounded like something
she could do to
relax and
fall asleep easier
since the lavender-scented eye mask
and the hot milk
and the bubble bath
didn’t work
and the sheep
kept running around
the room,
hiding under the bed,
and jumping out the window,
refusing
to be counted.

and when she
learned that
the little bronze-ish
statue she liked
so much when she
first laid eyes on it
so many years ago
is actually
a buddha,
she gave it away
for fear she’d
been inadvertently worshipping
a false god
all these years.

scoff if you will,
chuckle if you can’t stop yourself,
but me?
i admire
her unwavering conviction,
her abiding allegiance,
her deep faith,
her commitment
to live what she
believes.

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9 Comments

  1. Mark

    I find a bit of humor and admiration in this, Jeanne. Like much of life, a bit of both.

    • whollyjeanne

      it is both, isn’t it? and i might’ve stuck more with the humorous did i now know and love this woman of whom i speak, eerm, write.

  2. ☆little light☆

    It makes me sad..

  3. Maeve

    One’s path may not be another’s, but the fact that we can all respect each other’s path is what, I think, compassion boils down to.

    • whollyjeanne

      I totally, wholeheartedly agree, Maeve. And that’s why I admire her – she honors her beliefs without forcing them on anybody else. (Besides, I got the Buddha!)

  4. Tracey Selingo

    I think belief is a beautiful thing, not to be traded for anything other than that which makes our belief—whatever that is—disappear.

    And you got the Buddha! Score.

    • whollyjeanne

      Beautifully said, Sugar. And yes: SCORE!

  5. Angela

    Unwavering. Abiding. Deep commitment.  Could you be writing about the mother of She who Stays? 

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