Today is Seth's 40th birthday

I don't think Seth minded aging; he wasn't vain about his age, and I think he just assumed that he would keep getting better and more wise as he aged.  Whenever he learned important new information, he continually kept refreshing his own mental/spiritual map of life, adding what he had learned to it.  That way, his universe continually expanded, and his understanding grew.  He told me once that he was pretty sure he was wrong about some things, but he would learn more as time went on.  I think he was correct; he had more interest in Truth than in being Right, which made him an honest learner.

 

The picture above is a recent one of Seth's son Tofu, and his friend, a stag beetle. 

I am posting this picture for Seth's birthday not only because it is recent, but because--in the Toufuu section of his website--Seth wrote about a dream he had had about a beetle like this.  I think it was actually a kabuto-mushi that he wrote about; this is a kuwagata-mushi.  But that is a distinction that people who don't live with them would not make: both are large, horned, peaceable, black beetles, beloved in Japan, fearsome looking, but benign.  I asked Tofu what he feeds them and he said sweet jelly; not the rotting bodies of their foes, but sweet jelly.

We could even say that the beetles are a little bit like Seth himself: a presence that you can't ignore, a bit outlandish, but underneath that exterior, peaceable and full of sweetness. 

So this is for Seth.  Happy birthday Seth!  The kabuto and kuwagata mushi wish you peace.