Originally posted on Facebook HERE
I’m feeling a bit rushed today, as we have to be at the bar ready for the Packer game by 7am today, and it’s 6:08am as I write this. Need to get a good seat you know. So, this is our last day on Maui, we fly home tonight. We love it here. So hard to leave. At the same time, so nice to be “home” as well, once we get there. Gizmo will go nuts. One of the coolest things we did on this trip was to go see Bhante Sujatha live. He’s a Buddhist monk and has a church in Chicago, really not far from us. His message is “loving-kindness”, and his mantra is “I am well, I am happy, I am peaceful”. We got along right away, his smile, his vibe, is infectious. And he talked about how we tend to complicate our lives, which often ends up making us miserable.
Got me thinking about all my “stuff”. We have a lot of “stuff” that we’ve gathered through the years. Boxes full of things I haven’t looked at since we last moved (in 2001). But, who has the time to clean out the clutter? We’re busy here… acquiring more stuff, of course. We actually had to buy an extra bag to take home from this trip to accommodate all the things we’re bringing back. I guess we’ll add it to the pile. Maybe the secret is in learning to keep only the things that are meaningful to us, though. The things we like to use and look at every day. Pass everything else along. And, don’t we do this with our thoughts and attitudes as well? We hold on to anger and judgement and resentments long after we could have let them go. I have some closets to clean out once I get home. Thoreau might have been right when he said, “simplify, simplify”. Be well, everyone. Be happy. Be peaceful. Simplify… simplify 
