GNU YEAR REVOLUTION

2008
a new year dawns
everything just the same as before...
but somehow slightly different
perhaps just a world viewed thru the dark glasses
of the morning after the night before
i turn forty this year
a sobering thought...
the family sees in the new year minus mrs fireseed
who goes up for a nap at nine
and reappears tail wagging sleepily at 12:15
awoken by the noise and the fireworks
we stick on jools holland's hootenanny
and bop around the room like madmen
to the likes of madness (resurrected), eddie floyd and seasick steve
uncle j is the ringleader
hannah woo his willing accomplice
at midnight we enact the ritual of singing auld lang syne
arms crossed in a circle as we intone the words of rabbie burns
the woodle is a little bundle of energy and excitement
until about one
when she suddenly puts her head down
and flickers out like a light...
this arvo we go for a wander over the lickey hills
the woodle goes on my back in the baby carrier
which she has almost outgrown
we climb through fresh pine woods
up to beacon hill
watching out for bears
from the castle ramparts at the top
we meditate upon the fine misty panorama
our sprawling conurbation in all its glory...

i have decided to keep my revolution simple this year:
to dedicate myself to the pursuit of happiness
simple but not so simple of course
as an avid reader of this blog
you will know that by 'happiness'
i refer not to ephemeral pleasure seeking
(though i really don't want you to think i'm a killjoy)
but to a deeper sense of wellbeing
attainable through an understanding of the four noble truths
by following the noble eightfold path
consisting of the threefold discipline:
sila - morality
samadhi - mindfulness
and prajna - insight
the middle way
which strives to banish those obstacles to happiness:
desire
delusion
attachment
ego
and thereby end suffering...
so there you have it
i told you it was a simple revolution
wish me luck!