Being a lazy Buddhist

I marvel some mornings in retirement about how quickly I have become so lazy. I always suspected that if I gave myself full sway I would be a very lazy person. It’s one of the reasons I kept going so hard, so long.

Now, in the morning, I make excellent coffee and take time to drink it, sitting quietly on the porch or while reading a book. I don’t rush. If I want to go to the store, I decide when it is convenient for me. If I want an apple crisp for supper, I take the time to make it.

When I am doing chores I take breaks and read, listen to music or just sit quietly and think. I meditate when I feel like it and not on any schedule that I can figure out or that is determined by work or anything external.

I have argued recently with friends that I like a good discussion, even a polite argument, on certain matters I think are important, things that have to do with community, public life, politics, et al.

My Buddhism instructor suggested I might want to discourage this “bad habit” in myself. And, instead, marvel at the views of others while suggesting I have taken another approach to the matter without explaining what. If they want to discuss this, I should act like Allen Ginsburg on the William Buckley TV show many years ago and simply say, “I love you” each time they try to engage me in further discussion.

I don’t think I could pull it off. I’m not THAT blissed out! But I get the point. Perhaps I should try. If it does run counter to my very nature, perhaps it will be interesting to see if I can change that at this late date.