I went to hear the Dali Lama today. I wish I could report a bolt of enlightenment upside the head. Mostly I froze my balls off in the seats that were so close to heaven I might as well have just jumped for it.

The theme was Compassion. Since this is the year that I found out that I was Stupido and reached a relationshipdeadstop likesomethingflickedatawall, I tried to go with an open mind. I strained to hear, because as he pronounces words, you have to translate the rest of the way into English. Anger is bad. Happiness is the goal of a human life. Glad to hear it, though easier said than done. Compassion is the way to happiness. But wait, not as in for anyone you know. That kind of compassion is tainted with yourself. I can kind of see that, put that way. The goal is to love the stranger, and to love those you know as if they were strangers, as far as I could tell. Because, in that case, whatever they are they are and the impact on you will be irrelevant, thus . . .

I’m kind of growing uncomfortable with this, because if I asked, I’m not sure that the few people I love would like to be loved as if I didn’t know them. Or would they? Hmmm I don’t think I would, just speaking for myself. In fact, the opposite of that is what I’d prefer. So I’m sitting there wondering if I have it exactly backwards and what people should do is unwrap the wounds of their hopes, desires etc. to another. If people did that, i.e. treating others as the OPPOSITES OF STANGERS, then they’d know each other’s fondest wishes, and where within the two of them a wish could not be fulfilled [inevitable?], then they could try to deal with that, with compassion.

I’m mulling this over, at this point kind of drifting in and out, watching this guy with sideburns and a nice butt strut around between groups of friends looking very much like someone who is NOT about to give up attachments, when the Lama starts to reach the crescendo. What you get for success is a world full of friends. (really?) He laughs, “You see! Everyone is your best friend!” (o) And I kind of guffawed, and I soooo wanted to turn to the guy next to me and say, Hey since we’re best friends now you want to come over and watch tv and order pizza? But I didn’t. He was a stranger.