The last words attributed to the Buddha were—

All created things must die.  Strive on.

I love, only to lose all that I love.  Every creature, whether my cat or my mother, every talent, whether to dance or to draw, to write or to practice law, shall be, must in the end be relinquished.  All that I love, from a sunset off the North Rim of Grand Canyon, to the string movements of the The Lark Ascending by Vaughn Williams, will be, must be, surrendered by my last day.

I have a choice:  I can opt to love nothing; or to love fewer or less often or with less intensity.  To give nothing.  Or to wager less.  To ignore the many. Then, I grieve less, surrender less when the time comes to let it go.

Or to offer all to all.  To pour everything out to anyone, to give anything to everyone. To love something fiercely in the face of the bitter idea that it will die.

Knowing that all will be lost, that it’s abandoned at the end, to savor the sweet and cheated taste, or to refuse the breast and suckle instead on the dirt in the wind.

© 2022 by Michael C. Just

Mike’s novel, The Dirt: The Journey of a Mystic Cowboy, is available in softcover or eBook formats through Amazon.

You can purchase the book through this website. Or go straight to amazon at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the+dirt+journey+of+a+mystic+cowboy&crid=1S40Q4BXSUWJ6&sprefix=the+dirt%3A+journey+of+a+m%2Caps%2C180&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_23

Mike’s other titles, including The Crippy, The Mind Altar, and Canyon Calls, are available through this website or through Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002

Four of his short stories have recently been published online:

Lies, Ltd. has been published by The Mystery Tribune @ Lies, Ltd.: Literary Short Fiction by Michael C. Just (mysterytribune.com)

The Obligate Carnivore has been published by the Scarlet Leaf Review @ Category: MICHAEL JUST – SCARLET LEAF REVIEW

I See You, Too has been published by the 96th of October @ I See You, Too – 96th of October

Offload, a short story about a man who can heal any disease, is now live and can be read at The Worlds Within at Offload – The Worlds Within