Zen masters encourage us to 'just be.' If asked, 'Just be what?' They reply with enigmatic silences. Or so we are told. Few of us have ever actually met any Zen masters. They don't do much travelling. They are too busy, 'just being'. Should we be going off in search of them? Or should we just learn to be what we are and assume that what we need is already going to be with us? If you have a comfortable, weatherproof environment, what does it matter how hard it rains? Only if our protection looks likely to let the elements in, is there a need to worry.

The worst a passing storm can do is enter through a small hole in our roof and spoil one tiny area of an otherwise comfortable room...I think it is better to put up with this philosophically than to climb outside to cover the gap and end up drenched....

Why are there so many words, in so many books in so many libraries? Why do we need all those explanations, observations dissertations?..Surely if we were a visiting alien, we would assume that those books were all needed because life on Earth was so complicated. Indeed, if it was me I would probably take one look at all the books I was supposed to read, and then turn my ship towards some more simple corner of the cosmos, that way I had less chance of getting caught up in an irrelevant argument....Nothing is ever straight forward though... is it?

If all life's roads were straight, vehicles would not need steering wheels. If humans are vehicles, though, they are cars not trains. We cannot follow strict timetables. Sometimes we speed up and slow down of our own volition, sometimes we must do what the traffic dictates. But always, we have options. Maps, though, are not necessarily in such easy supply. Isn't it that we have our inner sense of direction? Surely if we look closely we must also have at least one clear signpost..that way we have all we need....

As simple as that you say....ummm...I say it is even simpler!!!

Perhaps it is true that I am a creature of instinct and I am proud of this. But I do sometimes feel slightly ashamed of my impulsive nature. I see the 'mistakes' it has caused and suspect I should be more restrained. But wouldn’t that be so if only I desire a dull life? Perhaps then I may just attain this level of caution. But, for me, existence without adventure isn't up to much. I may be in risky territory but I don’t feel I am in any danger. I do sometimes wonder though that what is it I am after, after all….but I do know that it is not re-assurance I want… It's a reward. Or at least, some hard evidence that points to an imminent increase in my sense of 'measurable stability'. There comes a time when words lose meaning. Phrases, no matter how sensitively constructed, are just sounds, hanging in the air. We sometimes, at least, need to be able to touch, taste and feel our sources of security. And sometimes, it's good to feel determined to accept no substitute…I don’t know…is it re-assurance I am after?

Few things are ever quite what they seem. Few people too, ever say what's really on their minds. To get ahead we have to read between the lines. To stay ahead, we also have to accept that there's a danger in reading between too many lines, too often. I am as always trying to make sense of something that cannot possibly be what it purports to be. I maybe right to feel suspicion, wrong to assume that I can see the true picture…or neither…I guess all I can do is keep an open mind!

Some choices are easy. But all choices seem hard when we are harassed or hard done by. Often, we don't allow for whatever is impeding our judgement. We see our lack of certainty as inexcusable and try to compensate by acting decisively. Then, of course, we make moves that lead to more confusion…..

Once bitten, twice shy. But what about thrice? Could it be third time lucky? I am standing back, looking at something that went awry in the past. Since then I have avoided a painful repetition. But I have been watching a situation carefully and making tentative attempts to see if it has improved. Something does seem to have altered. Is it madness to have another go? Perhaps, Not if I am ready to apply all I have learned?

Maybe it's time to upwardly revise my own assessment of what's possible!