{"id":8381,"date":"2014-04-23T18:12:24","date_gmt":"2014-04-23T22:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beginnersheart\/?p=8381"},"modified":"2014-04-23T18:12:24","modified_gmt":"2014-04-23T22:12:24","slug":"reflections-on-mortality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beginnersheart\/2014\/04\/reflections-on-mortality.html","title":{"rendered":"reflections on mortality"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Hieronymus<\/a>
Hieronymus Bosch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nothing like a nervous day at the doc’s to make you realise your life is very good. Not that I needed reminding… But it still serves as a bit of a wake-up call. You know: what the heck are you whining about??<\/em> \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

The eye that was giving me fits is just aging, as I am. And it’s unlikely it’s more than that, although I donated blood in the interest of precise science to make sure.<\/p>\n

Still, nothing like weird stuff w\/ the eyes to make a reader\/ writer totally paranoid… \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

And to remind me: life is not a sure thing. Nor is health, or other things I tend to take for granted.\u00a0 No matter how I try not to, it’s easy to become comfortable.<\/p>\n

But the basic premise of Buddhism is change — and our discomfort with that. Attachment<\/em>. And boy, am I attached to my eyes!<\/p>\n

So here’s my advice to you: use your eyes today. Take notice of spring, all around you (even in Florida & California!). If you don’t have dogwood, do you have jacaranda, with its lush purple blossoms? Or lilac? Are the trees dropping catkins for you? (My driveway is furry!) What about that clear blue sky? Or the silver grey of rain?<\/p>\n

Don’t take it for granted, folks. It’s not a given. Not much is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nothing like a nervous day at the doc’s to make you realise your life is very good. Not that I needed reminding… But it still serves as a bit of a wake-up call. You know: what the heck are you whining about?? \ud83d\ude42 The eye that was giving me fits is just aging, as I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":398,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[200,576,380],"tags":[1234,11,1181,1187,262,1278],"class_list":["post-8381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-attachment","category-everyday-living","category-mortality","tag-attachment","tag-beginners-heart","tag-britton-gildersleeve","tag-buddhism","tag-buddhist-blogs","tag-mortality"],"yoast_head":"\nreflections on mortality - Beginner's Heart<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Nothing like a nervous day at the doc's to make you realise your life is very good. 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