I wish I understood this web thing...Hello Latvia!

I get very slight but very instantaneous feedback about who reads my blog. I know how many readers drop in, what countries they live in and what system (if that is the right word) they use...Windows, mac and so on. Oh yes, and what time of day each person reads it. This sounds hum-drum and mostly is because I would love to know more. I love telling stories, but I also very much enjoy hearing them.  Sometimes I make up readers and talk to them. If I can't know you, I can create you. Once in a while there comes a real surprise. For instance,  this week I have more readers in Latvia than in the USA. This is a bit of a thrill, for some reason, but who are they? I sort of picture reindeer and bright people with rosy cheeks. But aside from that, nothing much else comes to mind.

No matter how different we are, I think there are only a few stories; birth, death, love, war, friendship, how to buy a new car, (only kidding), and the other absolutely universal experiences of life on this earth. So, in spite of what real estate people say, I am making a guess that location doesn't matter all that much. Latvia? USA? No big deal.

I had a kind of severe emotional reaction this morning waiting in line in Starbucks and glancing at the New York Times. I kind of blocked out much of what I read because my coffee was ready and I didn't want to read what I was reading. The article was about Buddhist monks in Burma inciting hatred against Muslims. I can't cope with the concept. I am a strait down the line Dalai Lama kind of Buddhist. I want to believe that the way of compassion has no room for hatred and bigotry. I will just stay with the Buddhism I know and love. I was, however, shocked at how visceral my reaction the the article was. I felt like I had been sucker punched.

I don't know the story and I don't know whether it is even true. (Sometimes the Times has been known to print gross untruths. Never forget the proof of WMDs in Iraq. Big untruth.) I try not to be a blind enthusiast. But I can't reconcile Buddhists sowing racism any more than I can Christ encouraging Holy Wars.

Right now I am filled with love for my Latvian friends and am going to ignore the article about the angry Buddhists and go for a walk in the warm California sun. I can, after all, chose what I think about. Sometimes.