(Foxglove [Digitalis purpurea] is a common weed of the North Pacific slope. While non-native, and virulently poisonous if eaten, it's generally escaped the "invasive" label. I'm not entirely sure why, but it probably has much to do with the fact that it has a pronounced tendency to colonise poor, erosion-prone soil snubbed by other plants. This landslide site in the bluffs above the beach is a good example.
That, and its singular beauty, may have earned Digitalis a measure of tacit support here.)
Despite its author's apparent lack of Buddhist background, this breezy tune from Julian Taylor, under a title seemingly made to trap Zenners like flypaper, has done exactly that to me.
You got the refrain,
I’m wide awake
I chalk it up to all of my mistakes
And all the heartache that I’ve had to face
And all the choices that I’ve had to make in my life
...a succinct summary of the Buddha's teaching on the origins of enlightenment practice.
Then there's that embedded haiku, twice recited:
There is an abundance of hope that lies between the oceans of time
There’s nothing singular about it
Yet it can be clearly defined
If someone told me these lines were extracted from one of the exhortations we chant in our zendos, he or she would probably escape with the lie.
Throw in that infectious country-western bounce, soaked in gentle pedal steel and Julian's own finger-picking, and you got a track that would hit on mainstream country radio if that genre (in which I write as well) were less narrowly and politically defined.
Spin it. Be prepared to spin it again.
Wide Awake
Julian Taylor
It’s a crazy world that we live in
The tide comes and goes so fast
Right now
While I’m trying to be present
I’m still chasing shadows of my past
My father was born in the islands
My mom was born on the great turtle’s back
They prayed for me when I’d go out in the evening
At least that’s one of the rumours I’d hear
‘Round Christmas time spent with our family
Over hot totty sorrel and ginger beer
They did their best and they did it for freedom
They did everything they ever could for mе
We went to church every single Sunday
We’d get dressed up and then go to Granny’s place
I’d run around that house with my cousins
We loved to race
There is an abundance of hope that lies between the oceans of time
There’s nothing singular about it
Yet it can be clearly defined
Yet, it can be clearly defined
And I’m wide awake
I chalk it up to all of my mistakes
And all the heartache that I’ve had to face
And all the choices that I’ve had to make in my life
The greatest pictures are never taken
They’re all stored in your memory
Me and my mom
We use to go to Good Bites and talk philosophy
We’d sit there just talking for hours
I once asked her
Why are good memories so heavy
She simply said
Aren’t we lucky
And I’m wide awake
I chalk it up to all of my mistakes
And all the heartache that I’ve had to face
And all the choices that I had to make in my life
Aren’t we lucky
Aren’t we lucky
There is an abundance of hope that lies between the oceans of time
There’s nothing singular about it
Yet it can be clearly defined
Yet it can be clearly defined
And I’m wide awake
I chalk it up to all of my mistakes
And all the choices that I’ve had to make
And all the heartache that I’ve had to face in this life
(Nice minus tide today, so I decided to have a good wade. I grabbed my sandals – the ones I took to the mountain, where I wore them all day, every day, under very demanding conditions. They never flinched.
Since then these Tevas have remained my mainstay… until I went to put them on this afternoon and found a sole about to fall off. Eager to catch the tide, I slapped on some duck tape and made off down the steep access to the beach.
Duck tape is a rescue product, enabling temporary fixes but not much more. Among other things, it's not impervious to water. So I didn't push it any further than my first intentions. As you can see, both tape and sandals delivered.
But I'll have to glue that sole back on. Which means it'll eventually come off again, and some time later, my prized sandals will have to be discarded. Sad it's come to this, but I can't complain about the performance. They've given undaunted service for 15 years.
Still poignant. Like the man said, all things made of parts.)
