The Blogging Bardo; or Should I call it "Blardo?"

I created this blog a few weeks ago with the intent of documenting my quest to attain Enlightenment for the benefit of all sentient beings. Considering what a lofty goal that is, I immediately began thinking "But where should I begin?!" After all, it is not as if I simply woke up one moment and decided I would become a bodhisattva. Even though my schedule was clear that day...

Once I finished the initial layout of the page, I clicked compose, ready for jewels of wisdom and inspiration to ooze right out of my mind, calmly abiding in crystal clarity. I touched the keyboard with my fingertips and...

You know that split second point between the ending of one thought or moment in time, and the beginning of another? There's a word for that in Tibetan Buddhism known as bardo, or "transitional state." Most often we hear of it in terms of the end of one lifetime and the beginning of another within cyclic existence, but it has many other meanings ranging from the super mundane to the ultimately profound. Yeah, that Shakyamuni dude keeps us hoppin' even after all these years, doesn't he?

I deliberated, I meditated, I pondered. Well, more accurately, I agonized. Everyone else's blogs and journals I had read seemed so...so...enlightening. How on earth could I compete with that? At forty three years of age, where does one even begin to tell such a story to oneself, let alone an audience of millions of loyal readers (hey, even a future bodhisattva can dream).

The answer (as usual) was starting me right in the face. The very face I immediately struck with my palm. In to attain enlightenment, one must have a genuine understanding of impermanence. In other words, all I have is now. If this is True,  then what am I waiting for? I'm not going to just arrive at the end of that perfect "first" post until I actually arrive there. Taking the wonderfully simple and joyous teachings of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh into usage here, this is true of every step. Or as he would simply say, "I have arrived".

With that, I'd like to close/open this blog in the most auspicious manner I can with a quote by another great teacher:

'I was born a poor black child...'