Buddha, Bathina Body So Fine, Baths w/ Bryson

I first became interested in Buddhism when I visited Thailand several years ago. Two of my favorite quotations from Buddha:

"What we think, we become."
"We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make our world."

Our minds are powerful; I'm trying to be more conscious of where I direct my thoughts and energy. I have found it is easy with practice to let go of material things, but it is tempting to me to hold on to thoughts of anger and resentment; they satisfy the ego very well. My ego struggles with letting go of these things, but slowly, slowly, I am seeing the wisdom of it. It's not my job to mete out punishment for wrongdoings. When I let go, I can move forward, and as for the other person? What will be, will be. It's actually a relief it has nothing to with me and is not my responsibility. I don't "lose" when I let go. This is what I'm working on making my ego truly believe.

I do believe when you can happily give up what matters most to you, you are truly humble, free and open. (Not there yet by a long shot!)

__________________

Do you enjoy dry, lizardy skin? If so, skip this paragraph. Those of you who like soft, glowy skin, here is  a fun body balm to try: Bathina Body So Fine. It used to look like this:

But it looks like recently they'e changed the packaging and now it looks like this: 

It's a sheer, slightly shimmery, mildy scented body balm that adds a nice glow to your skin. I don't use it on my face, but it looks nice everywhere else. Lasts a long time too, I've had the same tin for the last two years. I buy it at Sephora but if you Google it, there are a lot of buying options.  

_______________

I've written about baths before, but I'm reminded now how much I love them. I really missed taking baths the two years I was away in China and sure making up for it now! You can tell a dedicated bathtub reader because our books have edges warped with steam. It's a small price to pay for the pleasure of reading in the bathtub. I've been working on my Bill Bryson books lately, he writes about terribly interesting things. My current read is Made in America, a book about the words Americans have added to English and how they came about (mostly through technology and sports, it seems). He also wrote The Mother Tongue and A Short History of Nearly Everything, two books I recommend even if you don't read them in the bathtub (although I of course recommend you do).  They even make waterproof books these days, but it seems most of them are either about fishing, erotica, or for readers under the age of 3. 

A few other B things I love: 

Bananas

Bridges (this Brooklyn Bridge picture kinda blew me away)

Bowls on their sides