Dharma

Today I was thinking about an old friend, a musician, and how failure and rejection fueled his depression, which he self-medicated with drugs and alcohol and other destructive behaviors; and how the intermittent success he experienced supplied the resources that allowed him to pursue those addictions and behaviors.  A terrible cycle.  Heaven knows, I’m not judging him.  This is the man who gave us some wonderful music, music that I still love and honor.  His ravaged life couldn’t obscure his honesty, or his genius as an artist.  And when I think of the hurt and fear and pain he endured . . . But it’s just a reminder to me that we are not made for success or failure.  We are made for dharma--or destruction.

The Things That Are Caesar's

They handed him a denarius, and he said, “Whose head is this?  Whose name?”  “Caesar’s,” they replied.  He said to them, “Very well, give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar—and to God what belongs to God.” (Mt. 22: 19-21)

 All money bears the image of Caesar, because all money represents “the things that are Caesar’s,” power, arrogance, affluence, idolatry, imperialism, materialism, and greed.

The Prophet

The prophet who is stoned is not a brawler or a marplot. He is simply a rejected lover. He suffers from an unrequited attachment to things in general.                                                                                 --G.K. Chesterton, The Defendant