Heav'n has no Rage...

I first heard the following proverb at Disneyland prior to the start of a guest (crowd) control shift. The lead (supervisor) pulled out this worn copy of Zen Flesh, Zen Bones and proceeded to give us a spiritual pep talk. The following paragraph changed my life:

A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger was waiting to eat him. Only the vine sustained him. Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw away the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it tasted!

Thinking about that strawberry is how I manage to get by during those 51 weeks every year when I am not in paradise. Okay, Newport Beach is not that bad, but it is still a good idea to have some zen handy for those days when your company misses earnings estimates by six cents.