Last week, I was set up on a blind date with a man about my age (47) who until a few years ago was host of a well-known public radio show on culture and the arts. I was ambivalent about going; a friend, knowing I'm on the lookout for work, suggested the date could prove useful to me. The man and I met at a Lower East Side bar at the appointed hour, and I could sense immediately that he was somehow distressed. I made a decision to simply be present to whatever life wanted to happen, and shortly thereafter found myself sharing the experience of my 10-day Vipassana sit. After an hour and a half or so, the man and I parted on a street corner outside. "I want to let you know that you may have changed my life tonight," he said. I skipped away with a renewed understanding that all I really want to do is keep my own personal lens clean so that I can be a vessel--and that life will then take care of the rest. (p.s. The man emailed me today to say he'd just been accepted at his 1st 10-day.)