Okay, so I'm not as Zen as I'd like to be. Had a bit of an existential crisis recently. Even on a multi-crop multi-species quasi-organic/chemical nightmare farm with a side gig building fence things get a little confusing sometimes. [that was a joke by the way] I guess sometimes you just wonder how it's all going to turn out. You know... ALL of it. That's a tough question for someone that's not prepared and I just wasn't feeling it this week.

However, one of the random things I have on my iPod, which I generally listen to in random mode (I guess I like surprises), is a talk by Eckhart Tolle. He's a bit nasal and a bit wheezy, but does a good job of explaining basic Buddhist principles in a way that allows you to apply them to your life without feeling that you need to shave your head, don an orange robe and commune with butterflies. One of the tracks from his speech came up while I was driving home today, and it really resonated with me. Here are a couple quotes:

- You are not your personal history. You are not your story.

- No matter what has happened to you in the past, it has brought you to this moment. Now.

Brain sugar for the over-think-things crowd, of which I am an occasional member. The phrase that really hit me was "You are not your story." I get a little frantic sometimes running all over the place trying to create the Karl story. But I'm not the Karl story. Just Karl is fine. It is okay to slow down. The story writes itself. Enjoy the moment you are in now. Not bad advice.