(Not the actual hot tub in my gym, but use your imagination.)
Yesterday I decided to go to the gym, and I'm so glad I did. Besides getting in an excellent 45 minute swim, I spent time afterward in the gym's hot tub as a reward-to-myself for getting out in the snow and cold to work out.
Here's my tattoo, a pic right from when I first got it.
When I got in the hot tub, it was already occupied with a very nice couple. Let's call them Mr. and Mrs. Tango. Mr. Tango had an interesting kanji tattoo on his arm, and I asked him about it, and then shared my own tattoo, the one I have on my leg.
I told him what it means:
The Tao that can be spoken is not the Tao, The name that can be named is not the name.
And that led into a very long conversation about all sorts of things. including Taoism, mindfulness, shenpa, meditation, and zen stories.
At one point, Mrs. Tango said I was very funny, and could do stand-up comedy. And Mr. Tango said I was really good at explaining things, and asked if I was some sort of teacher.
"Well, sort of," I said. Then, after taking a moment to think it through, I told them I was a podcaster, and an author.
"Oh, what sort of author?" they asked. So I told them. And we kept right on talking. It was fun, and awesome, and felt good to share openly with open-minded folks. I shared my belief (gleaned from one of my favorite books/movies, Way of the Peaceful Warrior) that there's no greater calling than service to others.
Mrs. Tango grabbed her cell phone and started jotting down a lot of the things I had been talking about, the authors, books, lectures, songs, and movies I made reference to, and said, "Wow, there's so much stuff. You should maybe have a list."
What a damn good idea.
I told her I would indeed start one.
And look, Mrs. T. I have!
My shiny new resources page
I'll keep adding to it, of course. What's there for now is just the beginnings of it. But hey, that's what this blog is all about, right?