02/18/04’s illustrious band:

Blazing Turban

Brought to you by my daily pithy e-mail from Beliefnet Buddhist Wisdom.

The message from a few days ago essentially cautions us, during our brief time on earth, not to run around as if our turbans were all ablaze, but to be mindful in our words and deeds. Good advice, but I can’t put the image of flaming headgear out of my mind. During a long, dark Midwestern winter, such a thing might not be entirely unwelcome.

We all know what it feels like to wear a blazing turban, don’t we. It’s that feeling you get when you urgently need to solve a problem, but rushing toward any solution just seems to fan the flames higher. My turban was blazing a few years ago when I was trying to buy a house. Several deals in a row fell through, leaving me to impose on a friend’s hospitality for a month rather than a week. The harder I tried to fix the situation, the hotter it got, until I finally gave up and decided to just enjoy the warmth for a few days. I found Sensational Acres almost immediately after that.

I find similar conditions at work: The more often I “check in” with sources who have promised to call me back, the less I hear from them. But if I cool it for a couple hours or a couple days, the information always turns up right when I need it. Interesting!

Hmm -- maybe the directive “Go soak your head” makes a little more sense in this context.

Today around the world: February 18 is Mardi Gras in Mexico, Independence Day in Gambia, and Mahashivratri (Great Shiva Night) to Hindus.

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