Calm

I thought I'd take a moment to post about what a pleasant week I've had. And I've spent it mostly alone and mostly at home. I've been to the coffee shop a few times, and to VZD's once, but for the most part, I've avoided my usual haunts. (I don't consider Jimmy's Egg a 'haunt,' although I eat there pretty often. I tend to be in and out pretty quick.)

I've listened to a huge amount of classical music, including, for the first time, Glenn Gould's "Goldberg Variations" performances. The new stereo makes some of my other CDs sound like completely new works. This is especially true of Ravi Shankar's "Chants of India," in which I hear voices that didn't even show up with my old speakers. Right now I'm listening to Tchaikovsky's 'Marche Slave,' performed by Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic.

I've done some housecleaning and gotten mostly caught up on laundry. I've walked the dog two or three times a day.

I've been reading some books by Steven Batchelor, Ajahn Chah and DT Suzuki.

I've located some old friends - people I haven't talked to in ten to twenty years - on Facebook.

I've taken naps in the afternoon.

Everything has been very calm and pleasant. I feel like this validates my decision to scale back my busy schedule of public appearances and spend more time with myself.