Another Year Older, and Deeper in Doubt

Another new year has arrived, and I’m wondering if this will be the one that finally sees this blog get off the ground. It’s been sitting in the shed for a long time, waiting for the right moment to take the world (or at least my immediate circle of friends and family) by storm.

Anyway, I won’t think about it too much. To get things started, I’ll just post this video compilation of photos from a two-week trip to Chiang Mai, my old stamping grounds, where Eid and I spent the Christmas and New Year’s holidays with old friends. We stayed free of charge at our old apartment, thanks to our delightful former landlady, Khun Mod, pictured here:

It was wonderful break from the worries of last year, and a well-deserved one for Eid, who stayed behind in Thailand while I spent six and a half months with my father, who passed away on Nov. 20 after a long battle with cancer.

Dad in his hospice room about six weeks before he passed away.

Who knows what the future will bring? But really, do we need to know? Just strive on with diligence. As the great Ajahn Chah says, “Everything is uncertain, don’t cling to anything.” (Buddhism is world’s only doubt-based faith.)

(The soundtrack to the video, for those who are wondering, is the theme song from the 1986 Ghibli film “Castle in the Sky” (天空の城ラピュタ).

Happy New Year, folks. May we all have a good one.