LEAVING, AGAIN

This morning I leave yet again, this time for New York City, where I'll be attending the annual conference of the National Art Education Association and, on Sunday, making a presentation. I have written before about the anxieties that beset me at these moments. I won't dwell on them again. Instead, I'll say that I'm excited at the prospect of a few days in what is certainly one of the greatest cities in the world.

I'll miss Ellie, though. I'm traveling solo this time, and will miss her urge to do everything that can possibly be done in the space of a few days. My tendency, when not prodded, is toward inertia. With Ellie, that luxury is not permitted. We're not allowed to pass up o a single museum or important show. With much to accomplish at the conference in terms of meeting people and making my work more widely known, I imagine that there will be less time to get out and about, but there are several current exhibitions that I'll certainly try to see. And, time allowing, I'll be reporting back home on The Buddha Diaries.

As a footnote, as I prepare to catch my late-morning flight from LAX, I'm glad to have had the time to sit for a half hour and breathe. And I'm particularly glad to have the dharma to take along with me. It adds no weight to my baggage, even as it lightens the mind. I'm fortunate to have discovered it...