El Cliento Quattro

Basically, I have four clients, and I spend most of my time working for one or the other of the four.

The first, and most important, client is the me-that-is-not-others. If the ego client didn't exist, there wouldn't be any point in working for the other clients, or anyone to do the work for that matter. So I wind up spending a lot of time entertaining, gratifying, satisfying and caring for the ego client.

Another important client is my employer. That client funds all of the activities for the other clients. Without the employer client, I would be homeless. The employer client also largely defines my role in society and gives me a lot of my own sense of self worth. However, the employer client is very demanding, requiring at least 8 hours a day, usually more, and generally right in the middle of the damn day, but as I said, it's an important client so I gladly trade my labor for wages.

The Zen Center is another important client. This dharma client gives meaning and perspective to all the activities, and thus has as much overall importance as the employer client. What would be the point of mindless leisure or mindless laboring with mindfulness?

The fourth client is the community. I speak here not of the sangha, but of the non-Buddhist community - my neighbors, the merchants and shopkeepers I do business with; in a larger sense, society. I was not even aware that the community was a client until the dharma client showed me the effects my actions have on those around me.

So this morning, I got up and ate, showered and shaved, and then perused my email and the online news for the gratification and amusement of the ego client. I headed downtown to the office of the state environmental protection agency for a meeting on behalf of the employer client. Following the meeting, I went to a doctor's appointment to have my PSA re-checked following two week's treatment with Cipro and then dropped my car off at Buckhead Jeep to have the funny noise in the engine checked out, thus serving the ego client again. Then back to work (employer client) in a little rent-a-car, and afterwards I attended a neighborhood civic association meeting (communal client) before later planning the Providence Canyon hike for the dharma client. And then posting this little note, hopefully to the benefit of all clients.