sunny days

from Sayings of the Buddha:
"Better than a thousand hollow words
Is one word that brings peace."

from today:
after lunch this afternoon, an 8 year old girl and i walked in the strong sun through the village, making our way from her house back to school. i pointed out a scrawny and oddly featherless chicken.

"there are all kinds of chickens here."

we passed a horse and she asked "have you ever ride a horse?"

yes, i had ridden a horse a few times.
she had too. "it cost five dollars."

she pulled something off a low tree- a green sturdy blossom of sorts with little pods arranged in concentric circles. she pulled a pod off, tossed it in front of her, and squished it with her pink tennis shoe, water oozing out onto the rocky dirt path.

"sometimes the kids do it for fun. (long pause) you want to try?"

so we walked and talked and squished until all the pods lay deflated and defeated, marking our journey to school.