Happy Birthday, Ganesh! (Sept. 19)


Ganesha Chaturthi, the birthday of Ganesh! This elegant Ganesh was painted by my friend, Scott Hague.

Happy birthday, Ganesh! I'm sorry so many spiritual intellectuals have to explain away your wacky appearance and exquisite nonsense as "
symbolism." I sort of like You just as You are, a huge elephant head, bizarre nose, fat bellied body on a naughty boy, riding precarious and tipsy on a mouse: that describes just about all of us!

I think the big tummy is important because it symbolizes a big tummy.

You are my buddy, Ganesh. Let's make some mischief today! Let's steal some hearts. Let's tease some girls while they're taking their baths. Let's gnaw through our ropes and free ourselves from every concept of how things should be. And when the great Father Should comes to cut off our heads, lets trumpet the wisdom of laughter and charge him like bull elephants!

Dear buddy, You are the remover of obstacles. But the greatest obstacle of all is our self-doubt, our self-criticism, the cold and absolutely heartless voice in our heads that keeps telling us we're not what we "should" be.

You radiate your crazy looks just to show us that, like You, however disheveled or fat or disproportionate we may appear, we are each a blessing, blessedly blessed, just as we are.

Om Gam Gatapatayeh Namaha!

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