IT’S THAT ANYTHING I CAN do, he can do better. It’s his unaffected, artless prose. It’s his vast non-dualist scholarship and experience. It’s his light touch. It’s his unpretentiousness. It’s that he neither talks down to or over the heads of his audience, but speaks directly to their hearts. It’s that he makes what he does look so damned easy. It’s his open-faced sense of humor. It’s his genuineness. It’s that he knows a lot, but doesn’t come off as a know-it-all. It’s that I’ve been avidly following his career almost since he began writing professionally. It’s the anticipatory glee I get when I see his byline. It’s his shameless lack of self-promotion. It’s his low-key vibe. It’s that he doesn’t make it all about him. It’s that he makes such obvious, why-didn’t-I-think-of-that sense. It’s his insatiable curiosity. It’s his self-effacing humility. It’s that he only talks about himself in order to illustrate a point, and that rarely. It’s that he can write about anything and make it seem real and interesting. It’s his principled non-dogmatism. It’s his accessibility. It’s his doctorate. It’s his easy-to-browse website. And did I mention that it’s that anything I can do, he can do better?
PS: The Man Himself wrote me the following email:
Hi Neal –
Well, I admit it took me a few days to click that link… I couldn’t tell which word was going to be sarcastic: ‘hate’ or ‘favorite.’
Anyway, thank you for the very kind words, around 25% of which are deserved. Rest assured, my lack of self-promotion comes only from a lack of competence.
Thanks again — you made my day!
– Jay
!!!