Memes come, memes go. In the meanwhile, I have to deal with them as well as I can. Reading and writing every single day. My way. Writing is the hard bit, for it takes my all, but reading is not easy, either. For my sins, I am as choosy as choosy can be. Although I cannot but write in response to what I read, I can do more to read less. Read less, write less. My hope. Alas, memes come, memes go!

To Susan Blackmore

Addendum I (October 29, 2017)

Well, well. Susan Blackmore comes and goes, as well! After all, she is but a meme among memes, of which there are way too many already. In spite of my enthusiasm about her work over quite a few years, she has scalded me a few times too many for my habit of citing her private electronic-mail messages without her permission. The last time this happened was when I sent her my book about yoga (“Quirky Words of Wisdom,” February 14, 2016). To be sure, I have contacted her never again. By now, even her name comes with a sour aftertaste. As a matter of fact, it is no less than nauseating. Good riddance, Susan Blackmore!

Addendum II (April 15, 2020)

Having come across this piece entirely by chance, I cannot but shake my head in disbelief when I run into Susan Blackmore’s name. I was delighted with her ideas from the start (“The Ultimate Rebellion,” October 21, 2006). And I felt no less than blessed by her teaching (“Blessed by Susan Blackmore,” February 16, 2011; and “Blessed by Susan Blackmore, Again,” February 2, 2012). But everything went awry when she started reprimanding me for citing her private messages without her permission (Addendum II of October 2, 2015, to “Genes, Memes, Temes,” September 19, 2015). And she did it again when I sent her my book about yoga the following year, as I reported in the first addendum. I was flabbergasted one more time. I simply could not believe her warped priorities—pedantry versus companionship. Where I felt that we were on the same page concerning things of the essence, she was annoyed by what she perceived as my petty misdemeanors. Ever since her second reprimand, I have erased her from my mind, as it were. And I am taken aback whenever I encounter her name in my writings. Alas, companionship is for the birds!