Last Friday I left the chefs toque on the peg and took the chauffeurs cap instead: It was Nick and Penny’s house-blessing at their sunny and spacious new place, away through the lanes in Longhorsley. This Tuesday coming, with another house-blessing in Redcar, I might need it again. But meanwhile, sandwiched in-between, the community is on silent retreat: No guests; an empty week; the demands of the kitchen light and shared. It sounds blissful. It can be blissful. But the art of ‘doing nothing’ is not easily mastered. And so, this week, as well as indulging some of my usual distractions, I found myself chewing over Ajahn Munindo’s Hilltop request for a Buddhist equivalent to ‘Trust in God and keep your gunpowder dry.’ He suggested it might begin ‘Sit on your cushion and………’ So, to get the ball rolling here’s a few possibilities that sprang to mind:
‘Sit on your cushion and update your Firewall’
or
‘Sit on your cushion and weigh your lawyer wisely’
or
‘Sit on your cushion and trust in the Bupa.’
That last one kept me going for quite a while, until I bored of resting on my own self-amused, self-congratulatory laurels, and decided we needed a quote themed for the kitchen. The best I could do was ‘Sit on your cushion and keep your larder stocked.’ Not very good, but perhaps you could help us with it nonetheless, the following items being gratefully received:
- red lentils
- honey
- cheese
- onions
- fruit
- tahini
- long-life semi-skimmed milk
- decaff tea
The storesmaster, rising from his cushion tomorrow, would also appreciate:
- wood for wood-burning stoves
- normal 2nd class stamps
- high value stamps: £1 and above
- ecover cleaning materials
- earplugs (for when our guests return)
And thanks too but we've plenty of olive oil, cakes and biscuits, toothbrushes and towels, instant coffee, pasta and spices.
