“Hey, dear,” I asked Ming. “When you look at a table like this, and all the things on the table, do you see it like…the edge of the table is the edge of a continent? And then you might move the things away from the table edge, and consider that moving them inland?”
The idea of inland is very important to me. I grew up near the coast, and when I was a kid, we went to the beach often. When I lived in California–most of my life–I was always conscious of how far away the ocean was, in what direction. I was ocean-oriented.
“Hmm, no–I see the table as the world. And all the things on the table are their own continents,” Ming said. “The continent are moving around on the surface of the world.”
“Wow,” I said.
I was glad I asked. The unspoken ways we all conceptualize reality fascinate me. One of the pleasures of a long partnership is having the time to ask these kinds of questions. And the safety to be curious about each other.
Lan Su
We were at the sweet lil teahouse at the Chinese gardens in Portland, Oregon. It was a good day. They have a food stamps discount, so it’s inexpensive to enter the garden. We had mooncakes, which I love.
They have wheat, but that’s the only exception I make. My body is upset for a few days, from gluten. But mooncakes are the best food in the world.
I paused at the Quan Yin altar to say hello. Ming looked very pretty.
Someone was playing live music outside, on a traditional stringed percussion instrument that I have no idea what it’s called. But the sticks had these different parts on the ends that intrigued me. They looked kind of like the end of a mascara wand. Yes, an airy brushy striation.
There was some beautiful bunny art. This was probably my favorite. Happy new year.
