Total transparency: I say f*ck and sh*t several times each day, so much so that one might call them my mantra.

Waking up fully is a daily moment-by-moment practice. There is no Santa moment when we’re rewarded with the shiny bauble of enlightenment from another dimension or a higher being.

Regarding my Buddhist practice, I find it increasingly difficult to label it as aligned with any single tradition or school.

I recall the first time I read a similar thought in one of Roshi Steve Hagen’s books, which profoundly shaped my love for the Dharma and my affinity with the Zen tradition. Just as birds do not seek the sky, and fish do not seek the water, all of our seeking is in vain.

In my experience, some people dread talking about death and what might occur afterward, while others are more open to discussing possibilities. Where we rest on that spectrum is a matter of our conditioning.