Other People's Mail

I'm not breaking the law. I don't think catalogs count as mail. Most of the time they include "or current resident" so it's okay. Right? Maybe not, but I love wayward mail that doesn't get forwarded. There's always the odd bank statement (you'd think something like that you'd be a little more careful about) and investment and 401k statements which get scratched with "NOT AT THIS ADDRESS" and popped in a mailbox, but there's not much you can do with catalogs.

At the last house we would get fluffy pajama catalogs for a while and Popcorn Factory and that one with the pens. I had JCrew (I'll need to get a new one .... hmm ...), but I pity the people picking up my selection of Anthropologie catalogs now. In this house it's come-ons for strange, obscure magazines and lovely Buddha gifts from The Monastery Store.

Maybe it's because it's from Dharma Communications, which gives me that Lost vibe, but I had to check out The Monastery Store stuff. No plain-wrapped chips or peanut butter, but some fun mountain seats, some helpful meditation timers so you don't over do it, and this fantastic Tibetan Meditation Cloak that I can see myself living in or building a fort out of during the winter. Honestly, I do this with my blankets for 4 months out of the year. Might as well make it official. The Malas are pretty, but it makes me think of "King Kong" and the word for friend. "He says we've ruined the ceremony ... Mala. Mala." I like the Beginner's Practice Kit as well, but only for the copy: "Everything you need to jumpstart your practice into stillness." [copyright © Dharma Communications.] Wait ... what ... jumpstart to stillness? Is that one of those nutty Zen ironies?

Manic peace to you all.