Wise man update

First a quick note on the weekend: I did next to nothing, and enjoyed every minute of it. Spent much of Saturday slightly buzzed on 3.2 Tecate and a Sierra Pale Ale, and just sat around the Red Cup and later, after the beer, the Paseo.

Saw 'Snakes on a Plane' which I would say see or don't see, not that big a deal. Samuel L. Jackson needs some stronger supporting cast in this.

Suzanne and I went to an art show at OCU's Norick Gallery based on tip from Buddhist friend JenJen.

Ate wonderful stir fry Sunday evening prepared by soartstar. I mean freakin' awesome stir fry, best I've ever had anywhere.

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Now, on to this 'wise man' thing. First of all, I realized over the weekend that some of this wondering is ego driven... sort of idle daydreaming about what it would be like to be recognized as some sort of –– well, not a guru, really, or a teacher, but just as a sort of serene, laid back dude who had a lot of answers. "Yeah, that Carp... he's really wise." Total ego thing, as well as pretty far removed from reality.

Seriously... I actually found myself thinking that since I can't keep my weight down anyway, I could just blimp up like Hotei, the fat 'laughing Buddha' you always see in Chinese takeout places, and just sit around being a fat wise man.

(For the record, I have few answers. I know most state capitols, but that's about it.)

I remembered something I posted back in February:

"Wen-tzu talked about the Taoist sages who did nothing to draw attention to themselves. That included not obviously seeking to avoid attention. Imagine that there are sages among us today, yet we don't see them because they blend in so well as to be invisible. Maybe you passed one on the street today and didn't notice him. Maybe you saw her just moments ago and you've already forgotten her.

"If you made a list of all the people you know, public and private, who might be sages, you'd miss the ones who actually are. They wouldn't occur to you."

Well, yeah. That's what it is.

I need to focus on wisdom versus being a wise man, and by wisdom, I should say a deeper awareness of and flow with the Tao.

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What I really want to do at this moment in my life, by the way, is sit around on the Paseo, eat and sleep. And maybe drink beer. I am totally without ambition now. I'm ready to be fat, lethargic and totally introspective.