Thanksgiving Eve and my thoughts turn to the Dalai Lama and mosquitoes. Honestly. (Blame it on all those drugs I took younger.)
I saw an article (click here) about how the Dalai Lama allows a mosquito to have a free drink only to watch it fly away without showing any appreciation for His Holiness’ kindness and generosity with his blood supply. Leads me to conclude that those mosquitoes are not only major nuisances, but also they are rude as hell.
Then again, now that I think about it, what was the Dalai Lama thinking would have been an appropriate sign of appreciation coming from the mosquito? It wasn’t like he was going to get a free lap dance right? (I could even make a case that the mosquito did show his gratitude by simply flying away and leaving the Dalai alone with his deep thoughts.)
If you read the entire linked article there is some further discussion about how sentient beings are more capable of showing gratitude than are non-sentient beings. The assumption here is that humans are the more sentient of beings. That we are, or we are not so is a little heavier and a more philosophical discussion than I am up for this Thanksgiving Eve. I do know, and feel fairly certain however, that when it comes to showing gratitude, I can do it better than a mosquito can.
Some music here with a nice little Thanksgiving tune for you to get in the mood for tomorrow’s festivities:
