Where do I come up with these things?

The latest twist in "what is Peter going to do with whatever is left of the fall?" saga involves the Path of Service Residential Program at the Upaya Institute. The U.I. is a Zen Center in Santa Fe. They have a minimum three month program in which you participate in zen practice, seminars and also do service work at the site. I ran across it as a result of a random web search. I think I put in something like "New Mexico retreat." It sounds ideal, exactly like what I was looking for: both the time frame and content of the program. I violated my own "sleep on it" criterion and sent in the application for last night. So we will see what happens. I am already finding ways to talk myself out of it. I have a book coming out, I tell myself, so I will have to be able to communicate with my editor during this period. As well I have applied for the job in China. In addition, I will want to keep in regular contact with my parents. So if the program will interfere with any of that, I hear myself saying, then as good as it sounds, it will have to be shelved. The fact is that it would be the best thing in the world for me to be cut off from the internet for three months. I am sure I could work out an arrangement with the publisher and the China job (which is looking less and less likely) is not for another year. But it is interesting the way I am trying to talk myself out of it.

Still, I will need to do something, and soon. Next weekend is the retreat at SMC and the following weekend is the Grand Canyon hike. After that, something, somewhere.