I have some pretty awesome friends.

For nearly a decade now I've been collecting Buddha statues here and there. I'm not Buddhist, but there's just some sort of spiritual attraction to Buddha and the different aspects of him depicted in statues and figurines. There's just something inside of me that feels calmed by focusing on an image of a meditating Buddha. I can't really explain it. I liken it to the way my grandmother collected owl figurines or my aunt's obsession with collecting roosters (don't ask -- I think it's a University of South Carolina thing), except there is definitely a more spiritual connection for my "collection."

I mention this because Deec, my friend of many years, called me yesterday to verify my new address and told me he had a housewarming gift for me. (He's thrilled I'm out of Barnwell since he grew up there too and knows what it's like for people like us.) Well, I forgot Deec works at a FedEx/Kinko's so my package got here in under 24 hours. And this is what was in it:


My new Buddha statue (with some incense burning in front of it).

I'm hoping to set up a permanent altar soon (I need to hit the thrift stores to look for some new furniture stuff) and I think this Buddha will have a home there simply because the present meant a lot to me and it touched me that he remembered this one little thing about me.

( A picture of the rest of my Buddhas under the cut. )