John used that phrase in conversation the other day, and it's been stuck in my head ever since, probably because it is also a book title. His auntie Bea is here visiting from London, and the two of them got into a fairly intense philosophical debate about Buddhism when we had dinner with her. As an aside, I love the way British people say Buddhist. They pronounce the "u" just a little bit differently - kind of like the way we say pudding, and the rest of the word is more clipped than the American way. I can't remember the exact context of John's quote, but he was arguing that there is no creation myth in Buddhism - that they believe that life, the universe and everything have always existed. I think some of the more esoteric branches of physics have similar theories; that there was no big bang, but rather the universe just is. Auntie Bea holds that there has to have been a starting point, because humans can't have created themselves. I'm not sure I agree with her logic, but it made for an interesting discussion. The bad news from her visit is that they are putting off the big 50th wedding anniversary party, so we have to postpone our planned trip to Europe. I'm a little bummed about that, but we will go eventually.
Today spring finally arrived in the DC area, and not a moment too soon. Saturday was cold and rainy and dreary and it was all I could do to not hide out in bed all day, alternating between glaring sullenly out the window at the rain and curling up for little cat naps. But this morning the sun showed up and burned off all the mist. We were able to go for a decent hike for the first time in a couple of months, which delighted Seamus. He's such a clever little guy - he knows exactly which road is the road to the park with all the hiking trails - and starts squeaking and wagging when we turn on to it. I also saw the first crocus poking its head out in our back yard. Now I can't wait to spend some quality time in the garden. I have a whole lot of pruning and planting to do.
Happy Spring!
Enjoy your good weather, it is already 80 here and almost too hot.