Kicking it with the Buddhist Homies.
You know, just when i was feeling like shit and totally rejected and down about my boring summer, here comes my friend Ariane to the rescue. My saviour in low-rise jeans wakes me up and puts a fire in my belly to get out and do something and that something is of course the mall. But no moment is ever dull, like switching free white panties for the non-free pink panties and sticking it to the establishment known as Victoria Secret.
Lunch, nowhere else but the food court and the freak show that it is. Of course food court talk always ends up being about boys; as soon as i start talking about my boy troubles and my depression, i automatically regret talking to Ariane about any of this:
"...I guess when you're nearing your mid-twenties and you're still single, you might get a little worried." I say to her.
"yeah, I guess finding the right man is like winning the lottery, and it gets harder since all the good ones are mostly taken" so says the recently married woman, Bitch!
Of course i'm never cured with comforting thoughts, but the cynisism of my friends, i was instantly over anything that was wrong with me in the first place, which is pretty trivial to begin with.
So after educating Ariane in proper skin care and the wonders that is Fresh(what topsy-turvy world do we live in when a boy teaches a girl about skin care?!) its adventure time and we head out to the backwoods of florida to find the Buddhist Temple. So after nagging about the hike up on the toll ($1.25) and the perpetual spiral downwards of this country and a slight right on Coconut Palm Dr. (as apposed to a whole right) we get to the Buddhist Temple with a screeching stop. Its quite late and no one appears to be around.
"They can't turn us away if we're caught snooping around, they're Buddhist!"
A woman emerges from the dark...er...her car.
"Is temple open?" i say,
"Are you Thai?" she responds.
"No, i'm not" I quickly respond.
"Well you're very late for the ceremony, but come and i'll show you around temple"
She walked us all around the temple showed us every room and introduced us to the monks living there and they welcomed us to the evening chantings, which we just couldnt refuse.
How is it that life knows just what you need? So there i am meditating with Buddhist Monks in front of one of the must beautiful Bhudda statues i've ever seen, it was just what i needed.
We chanted right along with them in Thai, heck if i'm going to be confused with Thai by a Thai person, i might as well try and sound like one. The chanting was so beautiful, i just had to close my eyes and be quiet for once in my life. The head monk came up and sat with us and taught is proper posture for meditation and told us that even if we couldn't keep up with the chants, to just try and listen, "its a beautiful thing" as he described it.
I couldnt help but snap a picture while their backs were turned (literally).
When we drive out of out temple after the hour long chanting session (god we were hungry!) we saved a life! I dont know, call it a message from Buddha himself, but as soon as we drove out, a cat came out of the woods chasing a rabbit! i immediately started screaming:
"Rabbits and Cats! Rabbits and Cats!"
I dont really know why, but as soon as the rabbit crossed our path, the cat just stopped chasing it and kept looking at us til we drove off. The way i see it is that i saved that little bunny's life. I dont know a burning bush or big booming voice from the sky, but i thought that was just so great.
You know, somethings die and somethings are saved; hand me my enlightened papers please.
P.S. Another Hurricane?