[Daniel]

"There is no there there" Gertrude Stein

Stein was referring to her visit to California and her search for her childhood home, which it seems, she could not find. This quote is usually used as a sly comment by East Coasters when referring to LA, but I have always liked it for something else entirely. To me, it describes- abet in a personally crypic fashion- the Buddhist concept of Emptiness. Rather than seeing this as something negative, that is, a Nothingness, Emptiness has to do with the simple recognition that the more 'space' we can give our thoughts and feelings, the more they take on a spaciousness that is full of Presence (though, strictly speaking, Buddhists have no concept of an ultimate Deity) which many call love or compassion.

It comes into use when my beloved has annoyed me- or so I think- and I find myself caught up in a whirlwind of my own making.

Really Daniel. The dishes can really stay in the sink till morning. The world will not come to an end. Let go and love.