Today is Thursday, January 31, 2008 - I began this blog on Monday, May 14, 2007 with the intention of posting daily a thematic song/book/poem/quote revolving around my life's passion for music and literature, more as an exercise in creativity/
journaling/scrapbooking than any desire for feedback or validation. I will pass my 7000-hit mark today, which absolutely amazes me - I'm not a math person, but that equates to almost 1000 hits a month, about 30 a day, mind-boggling when I have absolutely no expectations in the grand scheme of things. Believe me, I understand the perspective - some bloggers actually receive 300 *comments* in *one 24-hour period* :: shakes head in wonderment ::
I assumed I was flying under the radar, "delusions of anonymity", I recently wrote - as a friend responded, "The internet does not allow for such things", and I am finally, dazedly, becoming aware. I have found myself on the RSS feed of a non-traditional, yet prestigious, internet radio station... on the website of one of my favorite musicians... and on the blogrolls of a handful of people whose philosophies I respect and admire - I have been linked to and tagged, and it's all just so d*mn overwhelming and fascinating and fun!
I have met (and been befriended by) some incredible people, and crossed paths with/entertained/enlightened by many others who have no clue as to my existence - it's a small world/spiderweb/ripple effect of a family, one link leading to another, most regular people like me who are documenting their life experiences in small or grand, but always important, ways.
So... whoever you are out there... clicking, reading, commenting... thanks - my spew-and-send has somehow, sometimes touched a chord and I'm feeling extremely grateful... and blessed... and overjoyed to be in this skin at this time on this planet...
All that being said, I am in awe of some stunning (in all senses of the word) blogs out there, timesuckers (in a good way, Martha) that encourage me... spiritually, emotionally, artistically, physically, ecologically, musically, humorously, literarily, organizationally... to learn/laugh/cry in my own journey of self-discovery - in fact, today (Thursday, January 31 by 10:00 p.m.) is the last day to vote for the Eighth Annual Webblog Awards: the 2008 Bloggies. Check out "the best of the best" - I repeat... amazing... :-)
SONG: Life's a Song by Terri Hendrix
BOOK: Clear Blogging: How People Blogging Are Changing the World and How You Can Join Them by Bob Walsh
POEM: The Big Heart by Anne Sexton
"Too many things are occurring for even a big heart to hold." - from an essay by W. B. Yeats
Big heart,
wide as a watermelon,
but wise as birth,
there is so much abundance
in the people I have:
Max, Lois, Joe, Louise,
Joan, Marie, Dawn,
Arlene, Father Dunne,
and all in their short lives
give to me repeatedly,
in the way the sea
places its many fingers on the shore,
again and again
and they know me,
they help me unravel,
they listen with ears made of conch shells,
they speak back with the wine of the best region.
They are my staff.
They comfort me.
They hear how
the artery of my soul has been severed
and soul is spurting out upon them,
bleeding on them,
messing up their clothes,
dirtying their shoes.
And God is filling me,
though there are times of doubt
as hollow as the Grand Canyon,
still God is filling me.
He is giving me the thoughts of dogs,
the spider in its intricate web,
the sun
in all its amazement,
and a slain ram
that is the glory,
the mystery of great cost,
and my heart,
which is very big,
I promise it is very large,
a monster of sorts,
takes it all in--
all in comes the fury of love.
QUOTE: "I... recommend to every one of my Readers, the keeping a Journal of their Lives for one Week, and setting down punctually their whole Series of Employments during that Space of Time. This kind of Self-Examination would give them a true State of themselves, and incline them to consider seriously what they are about. One Day would rectifie the Omissions of another, and make a Man weigh all those indifferent Actions, which, though they are easily forgotten, must certainly be accounted for." ~ Joseph Addison, 1712
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Life's a Song (Terri Hendrix)
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) - (Simon and Garfunkel)
DailyOM
January 30, 2008
Create Time For Self-Compassion
Being Gentle With Ourselves
During those times when our lives are filled with what seems to be constant change and growth, it is important to remember that we need to be gentle with ourselves. Since it can be easy to use our energy to keep up with the momentum of our lives, we may not be aware of the fact that we are much more likely to run ourselves down. When things seem to be moving quickly, it is especially essential that we make a point to slow down and be gentle with ourselves.
It might be difficult to notice what is happening to us for we may be so caught up in the whirlwind of our lives that we lose sight of the direction in which things are heading. Being gentle with ourselves doesn’t mean that we don’t accomplish things. Instead it means that we honor ourselves on an ongoing basis and take care of the needs of our bodies.
This means different things to different people. For instance, it could mean having a session with a healer; taking a remedy, herbs, or vitamins; or getting extra sleep. Putting our energy into ourselves in this way helps create space for a more positive, loving, and accepting view of our lives. By setting the intention to do so, we will be more cognizant of our energy levels on a daily basis and more able to replenish them as needed.
The more we are able to treat our bodies with gentleness, the more tenderness and compassion we will call forth into our lives. Learning to understand and pay attention to what our self needs will in turn allow us to fill our lives with unlimited loving and healing energy and to truly take care of the things that mean the most to us.
At work this afternoon, I had an epiphany that I had totally lost sight of my 2008 intention... and wasn't doing anywhere near the relate/relax/release-ing I had promised myself - I almost got angry, and then realized that if I didn't start changing something, I was back to the same-old, same-old. I've actually cancelled some things this week and not accepted a few invitations as well - feels like time to keep a low profile and concentrate on caretaking...
I really miss reading (just don't seem to make the time for it anymore) and, synchronistically, a friend just today loaned me the new Stephen King book, Duma Key - I'm a long-time fanatic, beginning way back when Carrie was first released and buying almost everything in hardback as soon as it was released. The entire top shelf of my wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling bookcase is overflowing with SK tomes, including his Dark Tower series and a few non-fiction works on writing - the new novel weighs in at a hefty 607 pages.
So... I read the first fifty, headed to the grocery store, whereupon I stocked up on healthy comfort foods (not necessarily an oxymoron), then unloaded the goods when I got home, hardly touching the computer (except for this blog) and not even turning on the TV - I'll spend another hour reading, will do a jacuzzi soak and then crawl into bed (Self-Pampering 101 launched!).
Today's poem is from a book I recently gave a friend for her birthday (I've gifted a few others with this special offering too) - figured I would do well to take my own advice/wish, eh?... :-)
BOOK: This Is My Wish for You Mini by Charles Snell, Harold Darling
POEM: This is My Wish for You...
That the spirit of beauty may continually hover about you and fold you close within he tendernesses of her wings.
That each beautiful and gracious thing in life may be unto you as a symbol of good for your soul's delight.
That sun-glories
and star-glories
leaf-glories and bark-glories
flower-glories
and glories that lurk in the grasses of the field
glories of mountains
and oceans
of little streams of running waters
glories of song
of poesy
of all the arts
may be to you as sweet, abiding influences that will illumine your life and make you glad.
That your soul may be as an alabaster cup, filled to overflowing with the mystical wine of beauty and love.
That happiness may put her arms around you,
and wisdom make your soul serene.
Ths is my wish for you.
QUOTE: "At this very moment, you may be saying to yourself that you have any number of admirable qualities. You are a loyal friend, a caring person, someone who is smart, dependable, fun to be around. That's wonderful, and I'm happy for you, but let me ask you this: are you being any of those things to yourself?" ~ Phillip C. McGraw
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Find the Cost of Freedom (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young)
Monday, January 28, 2008
CSNY Speak Out and Listen In
“Déjà Vu”
by Gregg Goldstein
Park City, Utah - Death threats, loud catcalls and walkouts didn’t stop rock legends Crosby Stills Nash & Young from completing their fiercely anti-Bush reunion tour in 2006.Two years later, the band has reunited again to unveil its Sundance Film Festival closing-night film, “CSNY Déjà Vu,” a documentary that isn’t so much a concert movie as a balanced examination of America’s fiercely divided opinions about the Iraq War.
“We went to war for one reason, then the reason changed every six months,” said the project’s main catalyst, Neil Young, an approachable guy despite his habit of locking eyes with you and not blinking when he speaks. “America never had a pre-eminent war in history before this, so we had something to say. But if anyone has anything else to say, the more the merrier.”
“Déjà Vu” takes a 360-degree look from inside the eye of a storm the band set out to create on their Freedom of Speech tour. It profiles civilians and soldiers both for and against the war between performances of popular ’60s protest songs and newer, less universally accepted ones, like “Let’s Impeach the President” from Young’s 2006 album “Living With War.”
And don’t get Young started on the war.
“Some people support the troops by saying they’re being abused, put in a situation with no armor, where they can’t win, where there’s not enough of them so they’re used over and over again,” he said. “They say the American way of life is threatened, and we’re at war for our lives. But if that’s true we should’ve had a draft. These guys didn’t believe that enough to put their own careers on the line. It would be political suicide for this administration.”
BOTH SIDES NOW
But there are plenty of well-articulated, contrary opinions in the film, and lots of self-criticism. There’s footage of fans leaving en masse with middle fingers raised during “President” — though Nash noted that it came three hours into a 3 1/2-hour show — and gripes about $350 top ticket prices.
The film even includes a review saying the huddled sixtysomethings look like they’re comparing prescriptions onstage. “I didn’t get putting that in for a while because I’m not a masochist, but I came around,” Stephen Stills said with a laugh. “We’re all pretty proud of Neil for including it,” David Crosby added. “But don’t tell him I said that.”
As the band sat in a swank Park City Delta Sky Lounge suite, they had an easy camaraderie that showed their mutual affection — and a love of giving one another a hard time. When Crosby put his bare feet up on the table, Stills quickly waved his hand in front of his nose.
But while all members support the film’s inclusion of differing points of view, like the pro-war sentiments some people express onscreen — “We don’t want to stand on a mountain and tell everyone how to do things because we don’t know more than everyone else,” Crosby said — they chose not to include the death threats and bomb-sniffing dogs they faced at each stop on the tour.
“I’ve never gone into a hotel where everyone else went into the room before to look behind the curtains. But we did it,” Young said. “We’re not going to live like this forever. You don’t want to fan that (by putting it on film) or say, ‘Look at poor us, we have death threats.’ ”
The band members are famously contentious. “We watch out for each other like brothers, and we fight like brothers,” said Young, who has drifted in and out of the band for decades.
“We’re a damn Jerry Springer show!” said Stills, drawing much laughter.
“Yeah, it’s the Jerry Springer Tour!” Crosby added.
But virtually none of that is onscreen, and on further reflection, the band said this tour might have elicited the least interpersonal tension of their career.
“We were basically scared s—less, so we were hanging together closely,” Young said. “It wasn’t comfortable out there, just because of the subject matter. Positive or negative, we crossed a line.”
ENTERING THE DEBATE
Young said he doesn’t really care what audience the $500,000-plus digital-video feature reaches — “We’re not making it to score commercially,” he said — yet the band feels strongly about securing a theatrical release to help stir debate several months before the presidential election.
“Déjà Vu” is directed by Bernard Shakey, a shadowy figure who has never been seen in the same place at the same time as Young. His work includes the quirky 1982 comedy-drama “Neil Young: Human Highway” and dates back to the trippy 1974 film “Journey Through the Past,” which has never been released on home video. “It’ll come out again, and now it’ll live up to its name,” said Young, Shakey’s unofficial spokesman.
The film could lead to a concert album, another promotional tour or even an original album, said Nash, depending on its reception. They’re hitting the road soon in different combinations: Crosby Stills & Nash in July, Crosby and Nash in the fall. Graham Nash is completing his box set and helping Stills on a box set. CSNY is prepping an album of demos of their songs dating back to the ’60s.
Young insists that his “Archives” project, delayed more than a half-dozen times, will be released this year on Blu-ray Disc and DVD (but not CD) “now that technology has caught up to how we want to present it.”
But right now their focus is getting “Déjà Vu” seen to stir debate.
“I truly believe there are good people on both sides. You can’t look at John McCain and say he’s not a good man,” Young said of one of Crosby’s friends. “He’s not dirty, he has experience, and he believes he’s doing the right thing. How is that different from Barack Obama?“
This movie is not about our opinion, just people willing to stand up and express what they believe” he said.
Or, as Stills put it, “The Constitution doesn’t say you have to support the liberal blowhards, just freedom of speech.”
So... today is Election Day, the presidential primary here in Florida, and I'm reading that, so far, there is record turn-out - the excitement level is high (major understatement).
My husband had a business dinner last evening, so I seized the opportunity to treat my daughter and son to a meal at our favorite local sushi restaurant - the impromptu outing made for some great conversation, most especially regarding today's choices. I told them of an exchange I had earlier that day, in which a co-worker voted early and said how emotionally overcome she was (in a good way) at seeing a woman *and* a black man on the ballot, believing it would never happen in her lifetime - I love the fact my children will soon be able to take this progressiveness for granted, as gender/race barriers crumble and the circle of role models widens.
I will head to the polls as soon as I leave work this evening, as will my daughter... and my son has promised he'll vote before his 4:00 p.m. shift - this is not your forefather's democracy... :-)
SONG: Find the Cost of Freedom by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
BOOK: Is This Any Way to Run a Democratic Election? by Stephen J. Wayne
POEM: Possibilities by Wislawa Szymborska
I prefer movies.
I prefer cats.
I prefer the oaks along the river.
I prefer Dickens to Dostoyevsky.
I prefer myself liking people
to myself loving mankind.
I prefer keeping a needle and thread on hand, just in case.
I prefer the color green.
I prefer not to maintain
that reason is to blame for everything.
I prefer exceptions.
I prefer to leave early.
I prefer talking to doctors about something else.
I prefer the old fine-lined illustrations.
I prefer the absurdity of writing poems to the absurdity of not writing poems.
I prefer, where love's concerned, nonspecific anniversaries
that can be celebrated every day.
I prefer moralistswho promise me nothing.
I prefer cunning kindness to the over-trustful kind.
I prefer the earth in civvies.
I prefer conquered to conquering countries.
I prefer having some reservations.
I prefer the hell of chaos to the hell of order.
I prefer Grimms' fairy tales to the newspapers' front pages.
I prefer leaves without flowers to flowers without leaves.
I prefer dogs with uncropped tails.
I prefer light eyes, since mine are dark.
I prefer desk drawers.
I prefer many things that I haven't mentioned here
to many things I've also left unsaid.
I prefer zeroes on the loose
to those lined up behind a cipher.
I prefer the time of insects to the time of stars.
I prefer to knock on wood.
I prefer not to ask how much longer and when.
I prefer keeping in mind even the possibility
that existence has its own reason for being.
QUOTE: "Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing." ~ Arundhati Roy
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Happy Birthday (Stevie Wonder)
Make MLK Day a Day ON, not a Day OFF
POEM: Psalms 15 (in memory of Martin Luther King) translated by Stephen Mitchell
Lord, who can be trusted with power,
QUOTE: "Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve... You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Sleep (Melissa Etheridge)
After months of festival preparation, hosting a house concert, the South Florida Folk Festival weekend, out-of-town company, back-to-back jaunts to the Luna Star Cafe (in addition to my regular life of a full-time job, running a concert series and various UU church commitments), I was finally able to get a good night's sleep - I got in the bed last night at 8 p.m. and woke up at 8 a.m. (a full twelve hours!).
My normal sleep cycle is 4 - 6 hours... and I feel so rested that it's actually disorienting - my weekend is laidback such that I'll go to a movie with my husband this evening (a date night long overdue), work on the BFC newsletter (as well as my laundry and housekeeping) Saturday and make it to Brian and Ellen's festival decompression party Sunday.
SONG: Sleep by Melissa Etheridge
BOOK: I'll Sleep When I'm Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon by Crystal Zevon
POEM: City That Does Not Sleep by Federico García Lorca (translated by Robert Bly)
In the sky there is nobody asleep. Nobody, nobody.
Nobody is asleep.
The creatures of the moon sniff and prowl about their cabins.
The living iguanas will come and bite the men who do not dream,
and the man who rushes out with his spirit broken will meet on the
street corner
the unbelievable alligator quiet beneath the tender protest of the
stars.
Nobody is asleep on earth. Nobody, nobody.
Nobody is asleep.
In a graveyard far off there is a corpse
who has moaned for three years
because of a dry countryside on his knee;
and that boy they buried this morning cried so much
it was necessary to call out the dogs to keep him quiet.
Life is not a dream. Careful! Careful! Careful!
We fall down the stairs in order to eat the moist earth
or we climb to the knife edge of the snow with the voices of the dead
dahlias.
But forgetfulness does not exist, dreams do not exist;
flesh exists. Kisses tie our mouths
in a thicket of new veins,
and whoever his pain pains will feel that pain forever
and whoever is afraid of death will carry it on his shoulders.
One day
the horses will live in the saloons
and the enraged ants
will throw themselves on the yellow skies that take refuge in the
eyes of cows.
Another day
we will watch the preserved butterflies rise from the dead
and still walking through a country of gray sponges and silent boats
we will watch our ring flash and roses spring from our tongue.
Careful! Be careful! Be careful!
The men who still have marks of the claw and the thunderstorm,
and that boy who cries because he has never heard of the invention
of the bridge,
or that dead man who possesses now only his head and a shoe,
we must carry them to the wall where the iguanas and the snakes
are waiting,
where the bear's teeth are waiting,
where the mummified hand of the boy is waiting,
and the hair of the camel stands on end with a violent blue shudder.
Nobody is sleeping in the sky. Nobody, nobody.
Nobody is sleeping.
If someone does close his eyes,
a whip, boys, a whip!
Let there be a landscape of open eyes
and bitter wounds on fire.
No one is sleeping in this world. No one, no one.
I have said it before.
No one is sleeping.
But if someone grows too much moss on his temples during the
night,
open the stage trapdoors so he can see in the moonlight
the lying goblets, and the poison, and the skull of the theaters.
QUOTE: "Sleep is the interest we have to pay on the capital which is called in at death; and the higher the rate of interest and the more regularly it is paid, the further the date of redemption is postponed." ~ Arthur Schopenhauer
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Lullaby for Ruth (John William Davis)
Last night was the "official" full moon, but I didn't have a chance to post about it... since I was viewing it, enveloped in a dimensional cloud cover... from the steaming warmth of my jacuzzi... sipping La Fin du Monde beer... deep in conversation with Danny Schmidt after his show at the Luna Star Cafe a few hours previous...
BOOK: The Moon's Lullaby by Josephine Nobisso, Glo Coalson (Illustrator)
POEM: Moon by Billy Collins
QUOTE: "By night only crazy things, like the full moon and the whippoorwill and us, are busy." ~ Charles Olson
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Falling Slowly (Glen Hansard/Marketa Irglova)
I received the DVD of the movie Once as a Christmas gift from a dear friend, who knew I had tried to see it in the theatres when it came out but never could manage the time - the recommendations came to me from too many directions to ignore...
My daughter and I watched it together a week or so ago (my second viewing, her first) and there is a scene in which the male character begins playing his song and encourages the female character to chime in on piano and vocal accompaniments - Sarah looked at me and said, "yeah, sure... what are the chances of that happening?".
I dreamily gazed back at her and proudly said, "in my world, that happens all the time"... and I experienced a rush of memories of songswaps and house concerts and campfires in which I was privy to people who had never before met sharing songs and intuitively adding instrumentation and voices, with angelic results - I cannot verbalize enough how truly blessed I am to run in circles of magic and harmony (pun absolutely intended... :-)
[Added 2/25/08 - Wasn't it great to see Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová win Academy Awards last night for "Falling Slowly" from the small indie film Once... and how cool was it that John Stewart called Marketa back to give her speech when she didn't have a chance initially?!? - what an inspiring moment for independent musicians and artists everywhere who are playing their own kind of music. A YouTube video of their Oscar performance and acceptance speeches here and here:
Glen Hansard: "Thanks! This is amazing. What are we doing here? This is mad. We made this film two years ago. We shot on two Handycams. It took us three weeks to make. We made it for a hundred grand. We never thought we would come into a room like this and be in front of you people. It's been an amazing thing. Thanks for taking this film seriously, all of you. It means a lot to us. Thanks to the Academy, thanks to all the people who've helped us, they know who they are, we don't need to say them. This is amazing. Make art. Make art. Thanks."
Marketa Irglova: "Hi everyone. I just want to thank you so much. This is such a big deal, not only for us, but for all other independent musicians and artists that spend most of their time struggling, and this, the fact that we're standing here tonight, the fact that we're able to hold this, it's just to prove no matter how far out your dreams are, it's possible. And, you know, fair play to those who dare to dream and don't give up. And this song was written from a perspective of hope, and hope at the end of the day connects us all, no matter how different we are. And so thank you so much, who helped us along way. Thank you." ]
SONG: Falling Slowly by Glen Hansard/Marketa Irglova (from the soundtrack of Once)
BOOK: This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin
POEM: Promise of Blue Horses by Joy Harjo
A blue horse turns into a streak of lightning,
then the sun --
relating the difference between sadness
and the need to praise
that which makes us joyful, I can't calculate
how the earth tips hungrily
toward the sun - then soaks up rain -- or the density
of this unbearable need
to be next to you. It's a palpable thing -- this earth
philosophy
and familiar in the dark
like your skin under my hand. We are a small earth. It's no
simple thing. Eventually
we will be dust together; can be used to make a house, to stop
a flood or grow food
for those who will never remember who we were, or know
that we loved fiercely.
Laughter and sadness eventually become the same song turning us
toward the nearest star --
a star constructed of eternity and elements of dust barely visible
in the twilight as you travel
east. I run with the blue horses of electricity who surround
the heart
and imagine a promise made when no promise was possible.
QUOTE: "Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder." ~ E.B. White
Monday, January 21, 2008
Stand (The Kennedys)
"It's in moments like these that memories are made" ~ my new friend Esther Golton
P.S. When Esther played for me Sunday night, she told me that after she discovered my blog mid-December (via Christine Kane's blog), she mentioned it to Jim and he added it to Whole Wheat Radio's RSS feed - I am beyond honored/pleased/surprised (wow)...
BOOK: Hot Jams & Cold Showers : Scenes from the Kerrville Folk Festival by Dyanne Fry Cortez, David Amram (Foreword)
POEM: Solar by Thomas Centolella
On a gray day, when the sun
has been abducted, and it's chill
end-of-the-world weather,
I must be the sun.
I must be the one
to encourage the young
sidetracked physicist
working his father's cash register
to come up with a law of nature
that says brain waves can change
the dismal sky. I must be the one
to remind the ginger plant
not to rest on the reputation
of its pungent roots, but to unveil
those buttery tendrils from the other world.
When the sky is an iron lid
I must be the one to simmer
in the piquant juices of possibility,
though the ingredients are unknown
and the day begins with a yawn.
I must issue forth a warmth
without discrimination, and any guarantee
it will come back to me.
On a dark day I must be willing
to keep my disposition light,
I have to be at the very least
one stray intact ray
of local energy, one small
but critical fraction
of illumination. Even on a day
that doesn't look gray
but still lacks comfort or sense,
I have to be the sun,
I have to shine as if
sorry life itself depended on it.
I have to make all the difference.
QUOTE: "I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live." ~ George Bernard Shaw
Friday, January 18, 2008
Beggars and Mules (Danny Schmidt)
Time is short but life is good - last night I had the honor and joy of presenting Danny Schmidt for a house concert. Words cannot begin to describe the magic and spirit in my living room, as time stood still for a few hours - more sighs and goosebumps collectively per square foot than have been experienced in quite a while, I'd venture to say. Megan, my folk daughter, is visiting from Baltimore - we ended the evening in a steaming jacuzzi under partly-cloudy skies, much needed for so many reasons...
I always did like music, and I always did like wine
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Fruitcakes (Jimmy Buffett)
SONG: Fruitcakes by Jimmy Buffett
BOOK: It's All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff by Peter Walsh
POEM: Temple by Tammy Burns
May I know peace
in the sacred space of my body.
May I find awe
in its tapestry of cells,
towers of bones,
and rivers of fluids.
May I behold treasure
in each tessellated organ-
and cradle my heart and liver
as nurslings.
May I walk, stretch,
and choose food that has been
nourished by light and earth
to imbue each limb
with power
May I treat this body as a guest-
here to visit briefly
considering its needs first…
taking it where it wants to go
even if I’d rather watch Oprah.
May I see aging as a perfect progression
of journey
and float on its current,
exalting its wrinkles
bowing down
before its eyes that don’t focus
like they used to.
May I gather up false notions of aging
and blow them from my palm,
as chaff,into the wind-
knowing …all is well.
May I trust my body’s Creator
and know that he who mixed the elixirs
from which it was formed
created it
with a lifetime guarantee.
May I fall to my knees in honor of this sacred home of Spirit
never perceiving one cubic centimeter
as anything
but perfect…
This temple
of God
come to Earth.
QUOTE: "Giving up doesn't always mean you are weak. Sometimes it means that you are strong enough to let go." ~ Author Unknown
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Things Change (Terri Hendrix)
SONG: Things Change by Terri Hendrix
QUOTE: "If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it." ~ Mary Engelbreit
Friday, January 11, 2008
The Calling (Mary Chapin Carpenter)
How strange to think I haven't blogged since Monday, when I was so proud of staying on task daily (other than travel absences) - however, in my new 2008 Release mode, I've given myself permission to skip a day (or three) when the timing isn't right... or I'm not channeling the inspiration... or when I just don't feel like it...
BOOK: Being In Balance: 9 Principles for Creating Habits to Match Your Desires by Wayne W. Dyer
POEM: A Blessing for Equilibrium -- John O'Donohue
QUOTE: "Inspiration is wonderful when it happens, but the writer must develop an approach for the rest of the time... The wait is simply too long." ~ Leonard Bernstein
Monday, January 7, 2008
A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes (as sung by Cinderella)
I seem to still be on a New Year tangent, full of hope and pro-activity and forward motion - think I'll ride the wave of optimism before the roots of reality take hold... :-)
POEM: New Year Prayer by David Whyte
This robust heart involved
And now this
QUOTE: "Dreams are today's answers to tomorrow's questions." ~ Edgar Cayce
Sunday, January 6, 2008
I Ought to Know (Jack Hardy)
A review I wrote for a concert I attended last night:
Thanks so much to Brian and Ellen for hosting yet another wonderful Shack in the Back concert - what a perfect co-bill!
Rod MacDonald and Jack Hardy have known each other for decades, from the Greenwich Village Fast Folk days - Jack still lives there (hosting a songwriter's exchange every week for *30* years!)... and we are lucky to call Rod local, after his parents' health issues 13 years ago in South Florida motivated him to move here.
Both men are sincere lovers of the language, translating their passion and skill to us in each musical gem - whether the theme is political, relationships or humorous, they craft poetry from their words, inviting us, the listener, on a journey of beauty and pain and connection.
We were treated to a few new songs last evening... Rod's Soldiers and Jack's Worst President Ever (and thanks, Vic, for requesting the elevator song... :-) - we laughed, we cried, we sang... and we came away changed...
Those of us who present house and venue concerts do not take for granted the work it takes to make such an evening appear seamless - much appreciation to all (from sound to snacks to seating!).
P.S. Congratulations to Rod and Nicole on the upcoming (February 29) birth of their second daughter...
P.P.S. I've seen Jack a handful of times at various festivals, more recently at last summer's Falcon Ridge - when he played I Ought to Know (last night's encore) at the festival after-hours, I googled the lyrics when I got back to Florida and was thrilled to find a hyperlinked version... :-)
P.P.S.S. Jack last night mentioned his friend Suzanne Vega, who covered his song St. Clare - she also coordinated Vigil: N.Y. songs since 9/11, a project sparked by the death of Jack's brother Jeff in the World Trade Center attacks...
SONG: I Ought to Know by Jack Hardy
BOOK: To-Do List: From Buying Milk to Finding a Soul Mate, What Our Lists Reveal About Us by Sasha Cagen
POEM: Lines For The Fortune Cookies by Frank O'Hara
I think you're wonderful and so does everyone else.
Just as Jackie Kennedy has a baby boy, so will you--even bigger.
You will meet a tall beautiful blonde stranger, and you will not say hello.
You will take a long trip and you will be very happy, though alone.
You will marry the first person who tells you your eyes are like scrambled eggs.
In the beginning there was YOU--there will always be YOU, I guess.
You will write a great play and it will run for three performances.Please phone The Village Voice immediately: they want to interview you.
Roger L. Stevens and Kermit Bloomgarden have their eyes on you.
Relax a little; one of your most celebrated nervous tics will be your undoing.
Your first volume of poetry will be published as soon as you finish it.
You may be a hit uptown, but downtown you're legendary!
Your walk has a musical quality which will bring you fame and fortune.
You will eat cake.
Who do you think you are, anyway? Jo Van Fleet?
You think your life is like Pirandello, but it's really like O'Neill.
A few dance lessons with James Waring and who knows? Maybe something will happen.
That's not a run in your stocking, it's a hand on your leg.
I realize you've lived in France, but that doesn't mean you know EVERYTHING!
You should wear white more often--it becomes you.
The next person to speak to you will have a very intriquing proposal to make.
A lot of people in this room wish they were you.
Have you been to Mike Goldberg's show? Al Leslie's? Lee Krasner's?
At times, your disinterestedness may seem insincere, to strangers.
Now that the election's over, what are you going to do with yourself?
You are a prisoner in a croissant factory and you love it.
You eat meat. Why do you eat meat?
Beyond the horizon there is a vale of gloom.
You too could be Premier of France, if only... if only...
QUOTE: "Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance." ~ Confucius
