Ed Krizek
Path to Wellness 1.Suburban Jungle In an upscale section of the suburbs, this afternoon,this coffee shophas only female customers. They all wear well-coordinatedoutfits of gray, black, and white.The room sounds as if filledwith birds, howler monkeys,and other jungle animals. Someone is playing rap.Ferns, Ivy and bamboocover one inside wall.The women come and go. 2.Zen Garden I am ailing hoping for health. My sickness is a bit better.Coughing less. Should not have smoked last week. (Note to self: Don’t Smoke!)My chest would hurt less if I hadn’t run my car into that truck. The solemnity of the gardenbrings calm contentment.as I wander through the woodswith no particular path. Flute in distance callsforward, forward. Thoughtsdrift past and disappear.What is the Buddha? All we have is what we experience.Embrace now, pain as well as pleasure. 3.Dukkha Pain and suffering can be transientmore or less. The mindexperiences the effects of pain and illness.They are realBut not our true selves. There is beautyin the smell of manure as it wafts across the fieldssignaling life continues.Amish farms powered by horsespopulate the countryside. Washed clothes hang on lines outside. 4.Meditation Life is sleeping. On the highway,Semis growl alongboth directions.Their onerous rumblejolts. Yet it is possibleto find calm inside.The space in your headcan be tended and made to fit you ownvision. 5.Presence I have lived and thrivedin a variety of US subcultures.The past is past.The future has not yet happened.I am lost in a dream.My wife is snoringand I write stream of consciousness into a small notebook.The riffs of language matteronly to me. They resoundoff the walls of my mind,bells peeling joy. Ed Krizek has been writing for more than 25 years. He writes for the college educated reader who is not necessarily an initiate into the literary community. Ed likes to connect with his readers on a personal level.