Transmission 122: A bowl of rice

- - - - - GREETINGS, EARTHLING - - - - -

Today’s lesson, borrowed from a Chinese Buddhist parable, might make you hungry.

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- - - - - A BOWL OF RICE - - - - -

A wandering monk receives a bowl of rice.
He bows, deeply, with reverence.

Another monk scoffs.
“It’s just rice.”

The first monk replies,
“This rice is more than just rice.

It is the sun,
and the rain,
and the mountain soil.

It is the farmer’s aching hands,
the cook’s steady flame,
the mother’s long walk to bring it.

This bowl is the whole universe,
cooked gently
and offered in love.”

Even the simplest moment
contains everything.

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- - - - - DAILY CALIBRATION - - - - -

Today treat something ordinary like it’s sacred.

A bowl of soup. (Or rice).
A daily commute.
A ritual.
A person.

Look beyond the surface,
the whole universe might be hiding in it.

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- - - - - EARTH TREASURE - - - - -

Rice.

The most powerful grain on Earth.
Soft, small, humble.
Feeds more than half your species.
Every single day.

There are over 40,000 types of it.
Some are black like night.
Some smell like popcorn.
Some grow in paddies that reflect the sky.

It can climb mountains.
It can float in flooded fields.
It can feed a village
or comfort one broken heart
with nothing but a bowl and a spoon.

It’s comfort.
It’s culture.
It’s the grain that built civilizations.

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Float well, Earthling.
NeilA

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- - - - - TRANSMISSION END - - - - -

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Greetings, Earthling is a free daily newsletter designed to help you slow down, feel better, and start your mornings with a sense of meaning. Written from the perspective of a curious space observer named NeilA, each transmission blends mindfulness, motivation, and emotional insight with a hint of cosmic wonder.

Inspired by Stoic philosophy, Tao, Alan Watts, behavioural science, and the strange beauty of being human, these messages offer gentle reminders to live with purpose, pay attention, and appreciate the little things. Part alien wisdom, part self-help, part poetic dispatch, it’s a daily pick-me-up disguised as a transmission from the stars.

If you’re looking for a mindful routine, a feel-good newsletter, or thoughtful guidance that fits in your inbox, you’re in the right place. This is for anyone who wants to be more present, more kind, and more connected to yourself, to others, and to the universe around you.

If this helped, pass it along. Or send them here. Signals get stronger when more receivers are tuned in.

Thank you for reading. Your presence means more than you know.

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