Damage Report

I made a big, big mistake on Friday. I parked at Book People to walk over to an anti-death penalty rally at the capitol building. So, of course, I had to go in when I got back. "I'm just avoiding rush hour traffic," I reasoned with myself. "I'll just get a chai and browse."

$42.95 later I walked out with the following:
Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames by Thich Nhat Hanh
Touching the Earth: Guided Meditations for Beginning Anew by Thich Nhat Han
Thoughts Without a Thinker: Psychotherapy from a Buddhist Perspective by Mark Epstein

I don't know what was with my Zen/Buddhist bent. Perhaps after reading so many unhappy books about genocide, poverty, racism, elitism, globalization, hunger, and general injustice, I need to read about peaceful things. Perhaps it is because, as Ghandi said, if I want to transform others, I first must transform myself. Or was that Michael Jackson who said that?

Anyway, I spent much of the weekend reading an excellent book:
Ghandi, The Man: The Story of His Transformation by Eknath Easwaran

The book is excellent because, rather than retelling what Ghandi did, Easwaran examines what Ghandi believed---how he came to those beliefs and how he applied those beliefs in his life.

Now I want to join a commune.