Not Exactly a blog – tedgresham.com

What the hell is going on?

Ted Gresham – August 2025

It’s getting easier to skip past all of those damn political YouTubes.Clearly the country is going to hell. People are being killed and destroyed. But there’s nothing I can do about it.It’s up to those who are younger and stronger to stand up or not. My wife and I will stay quiet down here in these woods.

Instead of being angry and beating my head against the assorted tree, I’ve slipped backwards in my timeline to some things that taught me once upon a time how to be happier. One of those things is the Buddha. That may sound kind of weird, but it’s true. Ever since I introduced myself to the Buddha over 15 years ago, I have loved the Buddha. He was a man and he died, but his message still resonates across all these 2500 years.

The Buddha teaches that we should not be attached to things or people or anything because life is a flow. Things come and they go.Religion teaches that we’re all little puddles of water. Everything that happens centers upon our little body of water.But the Buddha taught that we are all part of a vast river. The river is flowing and never the same. If we try to hold on to something in the riverbed or jutting down from the bank, it will only cause us pain. We have to appreciate the moments we’ve had and then move on. Let it go.

In less than a month, I will be 68 years old.The end of my life is far closer than the beginning.It may be right around the bend, or it may come in a decade or two, but it’s coming. If I cling to all that I have and what I believe that I am, the remainder of my days will be days of suffering.I have to learn to let everything go and to encourage those who love me to let me go. That is the flow. It is the end of suffering.