Sucker punches

I was at a Wide Mouth Mason concert recently and one of the lyrics to their new songs was something to the effect of "sometimes hope is like a sucker punch." I thought how true, which is why I'm not an optimist. (I consider myself to be a realist). If you have high hopes and things don't work out, then the hope that you had is the sucker punch leading to your disappointment.

Mondo

My favourite Zen mondo is this:

Monk: "I have just entered the monastery. Please give me some guidance."

Master: "Have you eaten your rice gruel?"

Monk: "Yes. I've eaten."

Master: "Then go wash your bowl."

Like the Monk, sometimes I would like all of life's answers to be given to me at once or have success in an instant. I always tell myself, you can't climb Mount Everest in a day, and on the mountainside you still have to wash your bowl. Even if you're doing something great, you can't escape the quotidian. Washing the bowl is the lesson and it's a part of the journey.