Horror and beauty on the hill. First the horror; which reminds me of a story once told by Ajahn Munindo of a Chinese masters’ advice to his monks. He said that should one of them die on retreat, then the others should slot him under the bed to be dealt with later. Well…no monks have died but the bell has tolled, lending a gruesome twist to the tail of the mouse. As the kitchen manager I don’t feel good about it, but sometime back the ‘humane’ trap we’ve got was moved from the place we no longer needed it. And yes, you can guess the rest. Someone, probably me, should’ve been more careful and attentive.
I don’t know if it leaves the community undeserving in any way. Certainly no one threatened to throw me overboard like Jonah. And in the days since we’ve had some beautiful weather: Two mornings of snow – the good stuff – the sort to bring a smile to your face as you hear and feel it squeak underfoot. Even British Rail would approve. Though alas, maybe the wrong kind of sun - too brilliant, too perfectly judged to bring each crystal of ice to life. By contrast, to step outside this morning was to step into a black and white photograph, the grain of the landscape so unusually marked.
Meanwhile, Radek was stepping into the larder with intent. His discovery of the morning (as well as finding a radical –no pun intended- new use for ice cream) was to notice we are running short of onions, which in this case was something I’d also observed myself. Additionally, we both concur that there’s more than enough fruit to last until the end of the retreat when the monastery closes down for a month, and that the most helpful items at the moment would be salad ingredients or non-perishables. So for those who wish not to wade through the waffle, here it is again in list form:
- onions
- lettuce
- tomatoes
- peppers
- mushrooms
Down at the stores the following would also be beneficial:
- stamps (any value)
- firewood
- danish oil
- ecover washing powder
Thanks also but we have plenty of fruit, tins, soya milk, biscuits, toothbrushes, cooking salt, instant coffee, towels and rice.
