Bull Sh*t.

The "*" is unnecessary; you know the missing letter: "o." When you're playing darts and you hit the bullseye on the first round, that's a bull shot.

The two previous sentences are a perfect example of the actual term in the title: Bull Shit. Other examples of Bull Shit can be found around the office, in most undergraduate writing assignments, and between the ears and in the mouth of nearly every homo sapien. Fun fact: only a small fraction of computer-using homo sapiens has ever encountered physical bull shit. Yet despite its physical absence in most homo sapiens' lives, Bull Shit's ubiquity is inescapable. And for better or worse, engaging with it is necessary.

When you sit quietly, observing your own thoughts, you're really observing a mire of Bull Shit. Things like, "This is dumb; I'm wasting my time; I'm too awesome to spend my time sitting quietly; I'm so awesome for spending my time sitting quietly," can all be counted as useless, drivelling Bull Shit. But take heart, your silence in these few minutes has prevented you from adding your own Bull Shit to the world supply.

Some might say that if I followed my own advice, this Bull Shit post would never have made it up. And that's true. But I can say, "You don't need to read this. 'Adding to the world supply' excepts instances of elected consumption." Only the deaf and the absent are able to avoid the spoken word.

Zen takes the meditator beyond Bull Shit. The opinions, thoughts, and ideas swirling around between the ears amount to nothing more than (often poorly) justified Bull Shit. Zazen allows the meditator to recognize and then "let go" of these thoughts. The repetition of recognizing and releasing eventually weakens them. But why would anybody want to weaken something innate as thought?

To make things possible! How do you expect to enjoy your job if you don't let your Bull Shit opinions about your clients die? (e.g. clients=assholes)

How will you ever see Paris if your Bull Shit thoughts on the French don't crumble? (i.e. French=French)

How will you ever make it to law school if your Bull Shit ideas about the LSAT remain strong? (e.g. LSAT=impossible)

When you examine the Bull Shit--not the elusive physical bull shit--that hinders your potential in traveling, eating, exercising, sleeping, studying, being at peace, etc., you see that it's not really an obstacle in your path. The Bull Shit is actually just part of it. So, when you come across a big pile of Bull Shit in the middle of your path, don't add to it by complaining about it and making excuses for yourself. Instead, let your feet fall where they may. The Bull Shit will wear off on the path's cleaner parts.