My lips are (mostly) sealed

I thought this might happen.

Most of what is happening here feels too private to share on this blog.

That doesn't just include what's happening to other people, as I thought it would, but also what is happening to me.

There are some things I can tell you about.

Jodo is a tabby who sat on my lap while we were in the training room. Sharry shamelessly accosts people on the stairs and forces them to stroke her by rolling onto her back and patting their hands with her paw. Zen is black and mysterious. Moggy is short for Mogdala.

Eamon made beautiful hot chocolate for everyone last night, with Butlers chocolates dropped into a huge pan of milk. I even got out my second bar of stashed Green and Blacks chocolate (which means I'll need reinforcements before the week is out).

But all the rest needs to stay here at The Buddhist House, between me and my new friends.

It brings to mind when we spoke about confidentiality on our first day here. David suggested that we need to treat people's material in a way that will allow them to continue to have confidence in us. This made a lot of sense to me. We talk to people 'in confidence'. I hadn't even realised the word confidential was so close.

In some ways I share quite openly here, but there are other parts of my life that I will never talk about. Isn't this how it always is? It doesn't mean that you're not my friends too : )

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I also wanted to share this prose poem from The Writer's Almanac with you because I like it so much.


Anniversary

She says he isn't as funny as he used to be. About fifty percent asfunny, maybe less. He thinks, but doesn't say, no, it's you, you'redepressed, you don't find anyone funny anymore. She thinks, butdoesn't say, I've always been depressed. I've never found anyonefunny—except you, once.

Jason Whitmarsh, from Tomorrow's Living Room

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Enjoy your Wednesdays. I can hear the bell ringing downstairs.