He came to a stop at the intersection,
looked east and saw several cars coming.
He looked to the west and saw the setting
sun; he stared as the descending light came
up over the horizon in the bright blue sky;
he breathed deeply — inhaled and exhaled.
He looked east; the cars were passing;
he pulled out, turned west; the Buddha
in the front seat and Lao Tzu and Confucius
in the back all clapped and smiled, especial-
ly in light of the fact that they almost
got into a really bad accident the day be-
fore when a driver not practicing mindful-
ness pulled out in front of them and the
attentive, mindful driver (him) swerved,
avoided the car and the telephone pole and
regained the road. The three passengers
breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Nice
going, bro.” He thought about the hot tub
at home and the blower which makes thousands
of bubbles. They read his mind and said in
unison, “Yes.” How many times in a lifetime
does a person get such affirmation especial-
ly from such dignitaries, he thought as he
pulled the car in the garage.