Arising

Nothing is real. Everything is an illusion. There is…there is no…dump truck!

The dump truck outside was really annoying. He kept his eyes closed, trying to concentrate on keeping his aching body at attention. It seemed like every time he tried he just fell asleep.

Where the hell was I?

Beating the dump truck driver and throwing him into…

No, that is not where I was. Not until… no…

Jack sighed and started over. He was good at the beginning. In with good air. Possibilities and shit. No, not shit. Happy thoughts… Whatever!

He exploded from the mat, raised the window, and let everyone in the world – especially the driver of the damn truck – know exactly what he felt about them, their mothers and their inconsiderate invasion of his inner tranquility.

Yah – I am tranquility. Bitch. Oh, who am I kidding?

He spat out the window, slammed it shut again and slumped into the couch, bending to retrieve the remote. The batteries were dead – again.

Figures…

He looked around. His place was a mess. He wasn’t sure exactly when it happened, but the chaos was beginning to win out over his usual orderliness. Resigned, he gathered up the trash, stuffed it into the overflowing can, and then pulled out the bag. About to set it down, he glanced out the window.

I probably don’t have time to catch him…

He hurried out, stumbled down the stairs, almost spraining his ankle in his mad rush. Pushing through the gate, he could see the truck backing up and inching forward in an attempt to turn around. Just when he was about to finish maneuvering, he mowed over a corner mailbox and slammed on his brakes.

What a moron!

The driver was suddenly at the felled mailbox, pacing frantically around like some kind of witch doctor before he bent over and picked up the two biggest pieces.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. People are more important than things.”

The old timer was smiling, slowly getting up from his rocking chair on his porch. “I was going to buy a new one anyway. Kids keep knocking it over. Morning, Jack!”

“Morning!” Why he is always so happy?

The driver obviously didn’t know what to say, but smiled back up at the old man, then at Jack. Jack held out the trash bag for him. “Can you take this, too? Sorry it’s late.”

“Sure. No problem,” the driver held up the shattered mailbox to the old man who pointed to the dump truck.

“Just toss it,” he said, grunting as he sat in his rocking chair again. “Bye now.”

The driver tossed the mailbox into his truck, realizing he wasn’t going to lose his job today. Then he grabbed the bag from Jack and tossed it into the truck and nodded quickly “Have a good day,” to Jack before he hurried back into his truck.

He seems like a nice guy after all.

He wondered if he’d heard any of the terrible things he’d said from the window. Glancing at the old man, he wondered the same thing. He waved and the old man nodded back, already trying to resume his second nap of the morning.

I wonder what his name is?

Jack strolled up to the porch and started a conversation with the old man. Henry. Turned out he had toppled plenty of mailboxes in his earlier days as a garbage man – and a teenage hooligan.

He really knows what he’s talking about.

Even though he didn’t know it, Henry had explained it all perfectly. Nothing, no one exists truly independently of each other…

===

EXERCISE: 3AM EPIPHANY - #81 (THE BUNNY PLANET)

Compose dark narrative reflecting frustration, sadness, alienation, then say something simple, sentimental and change everything, especially narrative, dramatically via composition of prose. Explain logically. 600 words.

Thoughts: It seemed recent studied of Buddhism might yield such an “enlightened” change; hence the title, based on a fundamental principle: dependent arising. I’m not sure if one who is “unenlightened” can pull this off, but here goes…

P.S. The central “turning point” quote is something attributed to my Grandma. How’s that for sentimental? I didn’t see it coming, either… Also, it seems interesting to me that his “cleaning up the trash” seems symbolic for him cleaning up his mind. I didn’t plan that either, just noticed this in the re-read.