10/13/2021
Today we lost a real one, Sweetie the Mouse, who starred in our Year of the Mouse video made with .
I made this video just before the break of the pandemic, for the Tibetan New Year. I thought it might be crazy to include a real animal, but my roommate Chrisso () was a genius of creating miniature worlds, and offered me a mouse-sized set I couldn’t pass up.
I went to the pet store and told them what I was doing. The shy teenager working there opened the mouse kennel and all the mice went scrambling in a giant heard, except for one. She stayed alone in a corner and I knew she was destined to be either famous or snake food. Her name struck down like an obvious thunderbolt: She was Sweetie.
She performed with the elegance of a classic Hollywood star, and with the dignity of an ancient warrior. She was the star of a most difficult year, 2020.
I knew she deserved a beautiful and loving home, and stepped forward to become her loving caretaker (mother?!). Just two days ago Ami reached out about Sweetie’s stardom, and told me though she had lost sight in one eye, she was alive and happy.
But today, we lost our dear Sweetie. Let us please remember her generosity and her tiny grace! She was, indeed, a most elegant little mouse.
Good night, Sweetie. We love you. As soon as you have left this confused dimension, may you be born in the west, in Sukhavati. And once you’re born there, complete the bhumis and the paths.