Helpful enemies

For those of us who have a "special person" in our life who pushes our anger button:

November 12, 2008
Tricycle's Daily Dharma

Helpful Enemies

As Shantideva says, there are many beings to whom one can make charity, but there are very few beings with respect to whom one can practice patience, and what is more rare is more valuable. An enemy is really most kind. Through cultivating patience one's power of merit increases, and the practice of patience can only be done in dependence upon an enemy. For this reason, enemies are the main instigators of the increase of meritorious power. An enemy is not someone who prevents the practice of religion but someone who helps practice.

-The Dalai Lama, The Meaning of Life from a Buddhist Perspective

from Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith, a Tricycle book

Never saw this coming!

OK, we're not even at Day One yet, and it looks like I'm in trouble.

I cannot make a paper crane.

I've been trying now for the better part of an hour. My desk is littered with crumpled scraps of paper -- none of which look anything remotely like a crane. Help!

This is the wrinkle I never expected. I figured I'd spend half an evening learning to fold an origami crane, and then I'd be off and running on my 100-day experiment. The worst obstacle I expected to run up against was boredom ... or maybe guilt at using so much paper.

Now I'm defeated before I even get out of the starting gate. I tried everything: written directions; how-to videos; Wikihow. At one point, you're supposed to open your already-many-times-creased paper square into a boat shape ("a canoe," one helpful video lady said).

I tried. And tried. And tried. Nothing doing. That damn piece of paper wasn't gonna cooperate. "At first it will seem impossible," chirped the directions, "but with patience you'll get the hang of it!"

Oh, yeah. Patience. A virtue we angry people have in abundance. And mine just ran out. I'm going to bed.