Peace out peeps

The other night I saw A Serious Man by the Coen brothers... we went to Moonlight Cinema in the park, it was such a great night for a fabulous movie. It's based on the mid-life crisis of a Jewish man, it covers some major issues but it's hilarious, beautifully shot and leaves you with lots to think about. I like that in a movie.

It opens with a quote from Rashi (a medieval French rabbi): Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you. I've actually been thinking about that quote ever since, it's quite Buddhist don't you think? It reminds me of a fable I read once where a monk is thought to have fathered a child with a single woman, so he's given the child to look after. He doesn't make a fuss either way and takes care of the child. Years later the parents of the mother discover she lied about the father and go back to the monk to retrieve the child. Again, he makes no fuss and hands the child back. In everything he does he's at peace, calm, unswayed. It doesn't mean he has no feelings, he simply knows life is infinitely better without the crazy highs and lows. To learn from this doesn't mean wiping out pure joy and sorrow, but keeping a level, grounded perspective in what happens to you is key to a more peaceful life. In short, to receive everything with simplicity...

The big lesson for me is to stop reading into things so much! OH! It is what it is. Live in the moment. All that. I'll tell you how I go peace-bean amigos...