Dear President Trump,

You’ll likely not be surprised to learn that Laura and I have a treasured little collection of Buddhas. Some look serious and solemn, some are serene and content. One looks for all the world like he’s dancing and another one glows in the dark. Until yesterday I wouldn’t have been able to tell you which was my favorite, which I wish were a sign of my burgeoning Buddha nature (as in non-judgmental, enlightened), but is really a function of my flitting attentions and preferences.

So what happened yesterday that I now have a clear favorite Buddha? Well, Cranky Buddha Baby came into our lives.

Laura went to go to Goodwill to look for a raincoat. She came up empty-handed in the raincoat department, but in the housewares department things looked up quite a bit. The first picture she sent was of a decorative plate depicting Maria serenading the children in a flower strewn meadow. I let her know it was just fine for Maria et al. to stay at the GW.

But then she upped the ante and sent a picture of a rather stunned looking fat Buddha (really, it looks like it just saw a UFO or something) next to a very cranky looking maybe-Buddha figure (admittedly, Cranky Buddha Baby could just be a mad toddler who bears a strong resemblance to “The Buddha”). Of course, my non-enlightened acquisitive self was all over CBC and I asked her to please bring him home. After 12 more pictures of various, mostly random (as in little socks to put on furniture legs) household items, Laura came home with CBC, who is now on our mantel in front of a tile that says “SMILE”.

There was, however, a wrinkle that delayed things some because, of course, CBC didn’t have a price tag. Laura said the young woman at the counter took CBC over to another cashier who shrugged and said “99 cents?” The young woman returned to Laura and said “99 cents” and then added “Do you still want it?” It’s probably a good thing I wasn’t with her because I’m certain Laura and I would have lost it – the cashier could have named almost any price and we would’ve still brought the little tiny (as in 3.5”) guy home.

I still appreciate all the other Buddhas with all their other positive expressions, but right now Cranky Buddha Baby is an especially nice gift from the universe because it’s reassuring that even Buddha would be cranky in this particular here and now.

May we all be safe to be silly sometimes.
May we all find unexpected things (material or otherwise) that amuse us.
May we recognize crankiness as a valid response to challenging circumstances.
May we all find some Buddha nature and nurture it.

Sincerely,
Tracy Simpson